Albares avoids a third diplomatic front with Mali after Algeria and Morocco

The ground on the ‘southern flank’ of Spanish diplomacy is slippery and always one step away from stumbling. A month ago, Algeria launched a diplomatic order against Spain, suspended the Treaty of Friendship and froze some of the bilateral trade. Algeria resented the rapprochement with Morocco, and precisely for this reason, calm was expected with the Moroccan neighbor. But ten days ago Migrant avalanche repulsed hard The alarms were turned on again by the security forces at the border. An unspecified number of immigrants died (Rabat knows at least 23).

In this context, José Manuel Albares, the person in charge of Foreign Affairs, could hardly face a new conflict. Therefore, when the Mali Government made its statements ugly, about a possible NATO intervention He called the Spanish ambassador in the country to ask for clarification, the reaction was swift. Less than 48 hours later, the Spanish embassy issued a statement announcing its position, and Albares called his counterpart to rectify the situation.

The words of the person in charge of Spanish diplomacy took place in the context of the NATO summit in Madrid. For months, Spain has asked the organization to make a clear reference to its strategic mandate for the next decade to the Sahel and the problems that persist there: ISIS-linked terrorism and Al Qaeda itself in the Sahel. Mali, Niger or Burkina Faso; the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries; and the use of immigration and energy resources as a political weapon is something Spain has already suffered with both Morocco and Algeria.

NATO has finally included “mixed threats” from Spain’s southern neighbourhood. “NATO’s southern neighbors, especially Middle East, North Africa and SaheI am faced with interconnected security, demographic, economic and political challenges. […] This provides fertile ground for the proliferation of non-State armed groups, including terrorist organisations. It also supports the destabilizing and coercive intervention of strategic rivals”.

“I think NATO will open a conflict with Russia in Mali under the slogan of fighting terrorism”

Barah Michael

The language was generic and did not target any particular country. But Albares mentioned in Mali. In an interview on Radio Nacional de España, he was asked: “Can a mission be excluded in Mali, where the presence of European troops was so controversial until very recently?” And he replied: “No, it should not be excluded.” “If necessary and a threat to our security materialized, of course it would have been done. “The Sahel is the epicenter of international terrorism,” he said. Albares welcomed the inclusion of “everything Spain demands” in the NATO Strategic Concept: “Both hybrid threats and the political use of migration or control of energy flows are perfectly circumscribed as threats. It may even mean that at a certain level, the entry of Article 5 of collective defence can be requested.”

The Military Junta of Mali sprang up and called the Spanish ambassador, José Homero Gómez, to ask for an explanation. Spain gave them in a statement (only four lines) posted on the website of the Spanish embassy in Bamako: “Spain has not made any intervention, mission or request of any kind, neither during the NATO summit nor at any other time. Alliance action in Mali ” said.

José Manuel Albares strengthened the movement by calling his Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop, to cauterize any possible wounds. This is published The tweet emphasizing that Albares is He expressed the deep friendship that unites the two countries. In addition, Foreign Minister Angeles Moreno Bau held “technical” talks with Mali’s Head of External Affairs, Abdoulaye Tounkara, for strategies in the Sahel.

It is unknown what they are speeches. And at the end of this issue, the Malian embassy in Spain did not answer questions about whether this newspaper considered the diplomatic issue to be clarified.

“The focus of Spanish diplomacy on risks from the ‘south wing’ is shared by countries such as France, the United Kingdom or Italy,” Barah Mikaïl explains to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, a Prensa member newspaper. The Ibérica group and this medium. , director of the political science program at Saint Louis University in Madrid. “But I don’t think NATO will start a conflict with Russia. Under the banner of counter-terrorism in Mali. Learned from past missions [como en Libia]. And they know that if there is a military intervention, if the locals are prone to the existence of the Alliance, it must be taken into account”.

Diplomatic friction with Mali as the operations of European military power officially come to an end detachment in the country. European soldiers (from Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden) had been fighting for over two years to prevent the establishment of the Islamic State of Greater Sahara. Jihadism zero zone, consisting of three borders shared by Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Mali army soldier. EP


However, after two separate coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, France, which led the mission, sufficient trust conditions were not met Continuing to fight alongside the Malian Armed Forces. Bamako accused Paris of spying after it posted footage of Wagner soldiers burying bodies in a town. The country’s Armed Forces increasingly has Russian mercenaries as military advisers and operators from the Moscow-controlled organization.

Moreover Spain is planning a serious discount Contribution to another of the active missions, the EUTM-Financial of the European Union. There are about 400 Spanish soldiers (half of the mission was 600) who helped the Malian Army develop its military capabilities so that it could restore the country’s territorial integrity.

However, as explained by Teodoro López, Chief of the Defense Staff, after the departure of France and after the Government of Mali refused to accept the points proposed by Brussels to continue the mission, “EU decided not to continue education According to the words collected by InfoDefensa, at the tactical level of the units of the Malian Armed Forces. Among other things, because they do not guarantee that these EU-trained forces “will not be used later with Wagner”.

There is another United Nations mission, sourTrying to protect civilians in the midst of conflict. However, he is also experiencing difficulties as the Mali government has made it difficult for him to act across the country. The Sahel has become a nest of terrorist hornets and a diplomatic flock. And not just for Spain.


Source: Informacion

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