Algeria and Spain show support for a two-state solution
Algeria and Spain have shown support for a two-state solution to the war in Gaza in a recent meeting between the Foreign Ministers.
Reported by Middle East Monitor on February 22nd, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares discussed the recent developments in the Palestinian issue and stressed the need for a “just and permanent settlement” for the Palestinians.
The two met on the periphery of the G20 meetings in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the United States were not present.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry reported that the countries agreed “the need to continue international efforts aimed at finding a just and permanent settlement to the conflict in the Middle East based on the two-state solution.”
The meeting between the two appears to mimic the recent meeting between the Egyptian and Spanish Heads of State who publicly rejected US President Trump’s plan for Gaza depopulation, calling for the international community to support a reconstruction plan “without the transfer of the Palestinian people.”
Egyptian President Sisi stressed that the Palestinians would not be willing to relinquish their land before Sánchez added, “Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of a future Palestinian state.”
However, the meeting between Algeria and Spain transcends just the Palestinian issue as the meeting covered ways to “strengthen mutual trust and developing cooperation,” according to the Middle East Monitor.
Spanish Foreign Minister Albares renewed his thanks to Algerian authorities for their “effective” contribution to the release of Spanish citizen Navarro Canada Joaquim last January after he was kidnapped by an armed gang and held in northern Mali.
This is the first meeting since 2022 when the two countries suffered a severe political crisis. Following Madrid’s adoption and support for the Moroccan proposal to resolve the conflict in the Sahara region, Algiers severed economic and commercial ties.
The conflict over Western Sahara is between Morocco, claiming sovereignty over the territory, and an Algerian-backed group claiming national self-determination and independence for the territory.
However, after a seemingly irreparable split between Algiers and their former colonizer France, it appears the country is turning to some of Europe’s most powerful players instead.
Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi
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