Gustavo de Arístegui - “Firmness from diplomacy and from good friendship must continue to defend and underline the Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla”

Gustavo de Arístegui is a Spanish politician, diplomat and an international analyst. Gustavo de Arístegui comes from a long-standing diplomatic background, his father and grandfather were both senior diplomats posted as ambassadors in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Ambassador de Arístegui has a law degree from the Jesuit University of Madrid and has been awarded the rank of Spanish Commander of the Royal and Distinguished Order of King Charles III, the Great Cross of Civil Merit and the Great Cross of Air Force.

Gustavo de Arístegui

Gustavo de Arístegui advice's that the country should be serious and discreet regarding their relations with Algeria. "We will have to believe the Foreign Minister when he says that he has fluid contact with his Algerian counterpart, but it does not seem that Algeria could do less than call its ambassador for consultation on a question so important to them for decades. We hope that Spain and Algeria know how to redirect the edges and the tensions that derive from this decision, which I believe is a decision that I believe had to be taken” affirms Gustavo de Arístegui.

Ambassador de Arístegui hopes that Spain and Algeria know how to redirect the situation. The geopolitical importance cannot be forgotten he says. “Obviously the US considers Morocco a close ally in the region and Morocco's close relations with the state of Israel, and all economic considerations. Let us not forget that Spain is Morocco's leading trading partner in absolute terms and that the EU is the leading destination for Moroccan products, two thirds of Moroccan products go to the European Union and 42% of those products stay in Spain”, the diplomat points out.

Gustavo de Arístegui was asked if it could it be that some power, for example the United States, has frightened the Spanish Government regarding the pressure on Ceuta and Melilla and even the Canary Islands if this step is not taken. He replied that, “I don't think that would have happened and what must be said clearly is that Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands are completely different issues from the Sahara. The sovereignty of Spain in Ceuta and Melilla cannot be questioned. When Ceuta passes to the Spanish crown on the death of Isabella of Portugal, the people of Ceuta are asked which crown they want to keep and they decide to keep the Spanish crown”.

But the Moroccan Government itself spends the day saying that Ceuta and Melilla have to be returned. “Firmness from diplomacy and from good friendship must continue to defend and underline the Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla and both historical and legal arguments are crushing”, Gustavo de Arístegui concluded.