Desrocher: “We Weren’t Surprised At Algeria’s Refusal To Receive Marines’ Mission”

US Ambassador to Algiers His Excellency John P. Desrocher confirmed on Sunday that Algeria had rejected a request from Washington to send a military mission to secure its diplomatic missions in Algeria following US President Donald Trump’s much-controversial decision on El Qods or Jerusalem.

In an interview with “Echorouk News TV”, Mr. Desrocher confirmed the information previously published on the issue, pointing out that his country was “not surprised” by the Algerian decision.

“We have found that the Algerian partner has a responsibility to protect diplomatic missions very well”.

On the other hand, the US Ambassador asserted that the decision to halt the financial aid directed to Algeria resulted from “fluctuations” in Washington’s budget and also included several countries.

He explained that “our program of security cooperation with Algeria is very close and we will continue our activities that relate to border security, intelligence sharing and training”.

The US senior diplomat further said that Washington considers Algeria an important country in the region adding that meetings devoted to strategic and military dialogue between the two countries will be held shortly.

“The relevant program is still being addressed at the US Congress,” Mr. John Desrocher said. “They know that a country like the United States is in constant debate about immigration policies and this is not specific to Algeria or other countries. It is a public debate about how to ensure the smooth management of migration policy”, he underscored.