Spain Fully Withdraws Its Ambassador From Argentina

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Albares announced that Spain is withdrawing its ambassador from Buenos Aires following the diplomatic crisis sparked by Argentine President Javier Milei.

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After a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Albares noted that Argentina "will continue without an ambassador" since the situation has not changed, meaning Milei has not apologized for his remarks against Spanish President Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begoña Gomez.

"For those who want to understand, cooperation is always more powerful than confrontation… Spanish institutions do not conduct politics, and much less foreign policy, through tweets nor do they participate in any show," Albares said.

Previously, during an interview on the television channel LN+, Milei described the withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador from Buenos Aires as "nonsense."

The diplomatic crisis between Spain and Argentina began on Sunday. At an event organized in Madrid by the far-right party Vox, Milei made statements implying, without directly saying it, that President Sanchez is "scum" and called his wife "corrupt."

That same day, in an initial immediate reaction, the Spanish government summoned its ambassador in Buenos Aires, Maria Alonso, for consultations.

"We are facing a case that is not only unique for this government but also in the history of international and diplomatic relations. There are no precedents of a head of state coming to the capital of another country to insult its institutions," Albares pointed out, highlighting that Milei made a "flagrant interference in internal affairs."

"Ideas are debatable, but institutions, governments, and countries are not," said the Spanish Foreign Minister, who noted that Milei did not request any meetings with any Spanish institutions despite it being his first visit to Spain.

Regarding the measures taken by the government, Albares recalled that there have been three during the three days of the diplomatic crisis: the summoning of the ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations, the summoning of the Argentine ambassador in Madrid, and today, the permanent withdrawal of the Spanish representative in that country.

Albares emphasized that the Spanish government did not provoke the diplomatic impasse but is obliged to defend the "dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions."

However, in an interview with the channel Todo Noticias, the Argentine president said he would not apologize "under any circumstances," arguing that he was the one attacked by the Spaniards.

Pedro Sanchez "is such a coward that he needed to send women to hit me," Milei said, referring to statements made by Spanish Vice President Yolanda Diaz and Science Minister Diana Morant.