Spain to 'defend its interests' as Algeria banks curb ties
Spain vowed to "defend its interests" on Thursday after Algerian banks suggested they could curb ties following Madrid's U-turn on disputed Western Sahara, but expressed confidence that Algiers would abide by a gas-supply contract between the two countries.
"We are looking into the scope and practical consequences of this measure, both at a national and a European level," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters.
Madrid's aim, he said, was to respond in a "calm and constructive yet firm way to defend Spain's interests and those of its businesses".
Earlier, Algeria's Association of Banks and Financial Establishments had urged its members to restrict business ties with Spain, just hours after Algiers said it was suspending a decades-old cooperation treaty with Madrid.
"Following the suspension of the treaty of friendship, good neighbourliness and cooperation with Spain, you are requested to freeze all automatic bank payments, whether incoming or outgoing, for goods and services with Spain from Thursday, June 9," ABEF said in a statement.
In mid-March, Spain reversed its decades-long stance of neutrality on the Western Sahara conflict, saying it would back Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed region as it sought to end a lingering diplomatic spat.
