Spain has appointed a new ambassador to Buenos Aires, five months after having withdrawn its envoy in a diplomatic dispute over Argentine President Javier Milei’s derogatory comments about the wife of Spanish premier Pedro Sánchez.
Without directly referring to the incident, the foreign ministries of Spain and Argentina vowed in a joint statement to ‘strengthen our relationship so that it reaches the maximum level of trust and mutual respect in political and institutional terms that our people deserve’.
Speaking at a rally in Madrid organised by far-right party Vox, Milei in May called Sanchez’s wife Begoña Gómez ‘corrupt’ and later refused to apologise, leading Spain to announce the withdrawal of its ambassador to ‘defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions’. ALSO READ: Spain withdraws ambassador to Argentina ‘definitively’, as Milei refuses to apologise.
The move is a diplomatic measure considered one step short of severing diplomatic ties.
In a news conference after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which approved the appointment of Joaquín María de Arístegui Laborde (main image) as the new ambassador, Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegría declined to say whether Milei had ultimately apologised.
Gómez has been the subject of an on-going Madrid court investigation into accusations of influence peddling and business corruption in a university master’s degree course that she ran.
Sánchez has repeatedly denied the accusations against her, saying they were baseless and orchestrated by right-wing political foes. She has not been charged with any crimes. ALSO READ: Sánchez invokes his right not to testify in wife’s corruption probe, and files complaint against judge.
Argentina maintained its ambassador to Madrid during the period.
El Gobierno ha nombrado a Joaquín María de Arístegui Laborde como nuevo embajador en Buenos Aires, con lo que, según Exteriores, España retoma la normalidad de las relaciones diplomáticas con el país latinoamericano.https://t.co/nGmiEEcaDy pic.twitter.com/dDtRXVdD5C
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) October 29, 2024
Sign up for the FREE Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Please support Spain in English with a donation.
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
Click here for further details on how to ADVERTISE with us.
