Algeria Suspends Treaty With Spain Over Western Sahara

The Government of Algeria announce a suspension of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighborliness and Cooperation signed with Spain 20 years ago to protest the country’s shift in position on Western Sahara.

The announcement came hours after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reportedly said his government’s policy shift on Western Sahara has “improved Spain’s bilateral relations with Morocco.”

In March, the Spanish government shifted its long-standing position on Western Sahara by endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory, paving the way for easing diplomatic tensions between the two kingdoms.

The Algerian Presidential statement says “the new Spanish position violates international legitimacy, and directly contributes to the deterioration of the situation in Western Sahara and the region as a whole.”

Bilateral Relations

The friendship treaty agreed on Oct. 8, 2002, with Spain has framed the development of bilateral relations between Algiers and Madrid, it noted.

Western Sahara is claimed by Morocco, but the Algeria-based Polisario Front movement has been fighting for its independence.

Algeria recalled its ambassador to Spain in March after the position shift of the Spanish government on Western Sahara.