Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Algeria
Newsline: Algeria, Mali summon ambassadors
Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf summoned Mali’s ambassador, Mahamane Amadou Maiga, shortly after Bamako did the same, accusing Algiers of “interference” for hosting an influential religious opponent of the Malian military junta. Attaf told the Malian ambassador of “Algeria’s firm attachment to the sovereignty of the Republic of Mali, its national unity and its territorial integrity” and its “deep conviction that only peaceful means can guarantee peace, security and stability” in Mali “in a firm, lasting and sustainable manner,” according to an official communique. (https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2023-12-21/algeria-summons-malis-ambassador-after-bamako-accuses-algiers-of-interference/) The head of Algerian diplomacy also said that “the recent meetings held with the leaders of the signatory movements of the peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali, which were born from the Algerian path, are fully in line with the letter and spirit of this declaration.” Algeria, Mali’s neighbor, has played a leading role in mediating a return to peace in northern Mali as part of the 2015 “Algiers Agreement” between Bamako and representatives of the main rebel groups in the region. Because of this mediating role, Algiers maintains contacts with Tuareg rebel movements, and last Tuesday Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received the influential Imam Mahmoud Dicko, a religious figure opposed to the Malian military junta. The Malian military leadership denounced the meeting as “hostile” and “an act of interference in Mali’s internal affairs” and called on Algeria to “prefer the path of consultation with the Malian authorities, the only legitimate means of maintaining interstate exchanges with Mali’s partners.”
Newsline: Algeria appoints ambassador to Madrid after 19 months of “suspended relations”
The Algerian administration appointed an ambassador to Madrid after 19 months of “suspended relations,” media reports said. “The Spanish government has approved the appointment of Abdelfetah Daghmoum as Algeria’s ambassador to Spain,” said the Algerian Foreign Ministry, according to the official Algerian news agency, APS. (https://www.timeturk.com/en/algeria-appoints-ambassador-to-madrid-after-19-months/news-86845) Meanwhile, the first step has been taken to end the “Spanish-Algerian diplomatic crisis” that began after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote to King Mohammed the 6th of Morocco on March 14, 2022, changing his country’s Western Sahara policy and supporting the country’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. The Madrid government had taken action to correct the diplomatic crisis it was experiencing with Morocco due to the Western Sahara problem and normalize relations. African country announced suspension of friendship, good neighborliness, cooperation agreements with Spain on June 8, 2022.
Newsline: Algeria to reopen its embassy in Ukraine
Algeria will reopen its embassy in Kyiv one year after it was closed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Algerian state television said on Sunday citing a foreign ministry statement. “This decision falls within the framework of preserving the interests of the Algerian state and the interests of the national community in this country,” state TV quoted the foreign ministry statement as saying. “The Algerian embassy in Kiev, which suspended its activities due to the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, will be managed by the Chargé d’Affaires.” The decision to reopen the embassy will be effective “as soon as possible,” the statement read. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/algeria-reopen-its-embassy-kyiv-after-one-year-closure-2023-02-26/) The embassy closed in March last year.
Newsline: Algerian arrested for threatening to blast Saudi embassy
Algerian security forces arrested one person who threatened to blast the headquarters of the Saudi embassy in Algiers, Algerian state TV reported on Wednesday. The Saudi embassy received a call at 3 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday from a person who threatened to bomb its headquarters, the TV added, citing a statement from the capital’s security forces. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/algeria-arrests-one-person-who-threatened-blast-saudi-embassy-2023-02-15/) The capital’s security forces arrested the suspect after investigations, the report said adding that the person was subjected to medical checks and psychological tests before being prosecuted. There was no immediate comment from the Saudi embassy in Algeria or the Saudi authorities.
Newsline: Algeria recalls ambassador to Paris
Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris on Wednesday, accusing France of orchestrating the escape of an activist it wants for arrest and triggering a new crisis between the countries after months of increasingly warm relations. Amira Bouraoui, a rights activist detained during the 2019 mass protests in Algeria and freed from prison in 2020, had allegedly crossed into Tunisia illegally after evading Algerian judicial surveillance, according to Algerian and French media. She was arrested in Tunisia this week and faced an extradition hearing, but the judge ordered her to be freed and she was allowed to leave the country on Monday. French media has reported that her release and flight to France resulted from French diplomatic pressure on Tunisia. On Tuesday Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi without giving a reason. Algeria’s Foreign Ministry accused Paris of “violation of national sovereignty by French diplomatic, consular and security personnel who participated in the illegal and secret evacuation of an Algerian national”. It added in a statement that the development is “unacceptable and harms Algerian-French relations”. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/algeria-recalls-ambassador-paris-over-activists-flight-2023-02-08/) France’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment. A spokesperson for Tunisia’s government was not immediately available to comment.
Newsline: Algeria to become hotspot of Arab diplomacy
Algeria aims to demonstrate diplomatic clout this week as it hosts the first Arab League summit since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Arab states are split over issues ranging from support for the Palestinian cause, the regional roles of Iran and Turkey and the rehabilitation of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, while Algeria’s own bitter feud with Morocco continues to fester. In Algeria, largely absent from Arab affairs for several years following the 2019 mass protests that led to the ousting of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the meeting has been portrayed as a mark of its return to frontline diplomacy. (https://news.yahoo.com/algeria-hosts-divided-arab-states-102146447.html) Since the last Arab summit three years ago, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have also moved to normalise ties with Israel – a move regarded as a betrayal by many Palestinians. Last month Algiers convened Palestinian factions in an effort to end years of internal discord, and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has in recent months hosted the leaders of France and Italy. However Algeria failed earlier this year to persuade other Arab states to end Syria’s suspension from membership of the league imposed in late 2011 over Assad’s crackdown on protesters as an uprising spilled into civil war. Damascus said in September it would not attend to avoid “causing dispute”. Some major Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar backed Sunni Muslim rebels fighting Assad, a close ally of Iran. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates leader Mohammed bin Zayed have both confirmed they are not coming to Algiers, as has Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. The presidents of Egypt and Tunisia and the monarchs of Kuwait and Qatar are among about two thirds of leaders whom the Arab League has said will attend.
Newsline: Chile to shut down its embassies in Greece, Denmark, Algeria, Syria and Romania
The Chilean ambassadors of Greece, Denmark, Algeria, Syria and Romania were informed, that they will have to finish their affairs before the end of the year, 24 Horas reported. The closure of the embassies are occurring in order to provide a greater national presence in Brussels, considered the unofficial capital of the European Union, as well as in Vienna (Austria). (https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/06/08/chile-to-shut-down-its-embassy-in-athens/) The measure was taken by Foreign Minister Teodoro Ribera, after the Strategic Planning Directorate asked to evaluate the political, economic and development relevance of the different nations where Chile has embassies.
Newsline: Algerian diplomat accused of sexual assault in South Africa
Police have confirmed a case of sexual assault has been opened against a diplomat in South Africa. The diplomat, understood to be attached to the Algerian Mission, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a domestic worker between 2013 and 2017. (https://ewn.co.za/2019/03/12/diplomat-attached-to-algerian-mission-accused-of-sexual-assault-in-sa) The Union of Local Employees of Missions Accredited to South Africa picketed outside the Brooklyn police station on Tuesday calling on police to act swiftly. The victim laid a complaint at the beginning of the month but the accused has not yet been arrested.
Newsline: Egypt embassy in Algeria suspends services
The Egyptian embassy in Algeria announced that it had suspended its consular services. “Due to an emergency the embassy’s consular services will be suspended until further notice,” the embassy said on Facebook. No reasons were given for the decision. Sources suggested that the Egyptian decision came after a fire broke out in the embassy on Tuesday, this led to the building’s electrical transformers being damaged.
Newsline: Algerian embassy to return to Tripoli
Algeria has expressed its willingness to reopen its embassy in Libya after the completion of security arrangements around the embassy in Tripoli. The New Arab news website quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the Algerian government had previously sent a technical team specialized in the security of diplomatic installations to inspect the embassy building. The sources said that the diplomatic mission will initially be limited to a small team working to secure Algerian interests and political coordination, in addition to agreeing to send a joint cooperation committee to hold this year’s meeting to assess the situation.
https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/algerian-embassy-return-tripoli
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