MADRID, Oct. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Brussels has become alert to Algeria’s moves to further strengthen its ties with Russia and Iran. According to a study by the Instituto Coordenadas de Gobernanza y Economía Aplicada based on sources in the European Parliament, a large group of MEPs have warned that Algeria continues to violate human rights, as well as revealing that the African country could provide the Polisario Front with Iranian drones, which could be used against Morocco, thus increasing geopolitical tension in the area.
In a question in the European Parliament, Spanish MEP Antonio López-Istúriz (EPP) said that a representative of the Polisario Front claimed that Iran will supply drones to the Polisario Front and asked what measures the EU will take to prevent the use of these drones and the escalation of conflicts in the region, asking about measures to prevent Iran from entering the Sahara and Sahel regions.
The use of such equipment in Western Sahara poses a serious risk to the already fragile security and stability of the region and the Sahel. Iran’s influence in the region poses a clear risk to the 1991 UN ceasefire agreement and jeopardises the peace process, the work of the UN mission in Western Sahara and the diplomatic efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy to establish new talks with the parties. Further instability in the Sahara and the Sahel will negatively affect European security, especially those in the Mediterranean arc.
The Coordinates Institute’s analysis also warns of joint Russian-Algerian naval manoeuvres, with warships from both countries, in the Mediterranean, which the Algerian government confirmed earlier this week.
The manoeuvres are in addition to other military exercises carried out by both countries in the past, both in the Caucasus and in Siberia. The Algerian army and the Russian army are also scheduled to carry out manoeuvres in the desert of the North African country in November.
Several MEPs from the European People’s Party have submitted a written question to the Commission on these joint military manoeuvres. In the wake of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and against a background of increasing insecurity in the Sahel and Sahara regions, this military collaboration, according to the parliamentary question, “is extremely worrying not only for peace and security, but also for the interests of the West and the European Union”.
The assessment also includes the letter that a group of MEPs have sent to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in which they warn that the Algerian regime is systematically acting against human rights and basic freedoms by persecuting activists who demand freedom and transparency.
Coordenadas Vice-President believes that now is the time to call for intense political and diplomatic action by Europe in the conflict, with one voice. Failure to confront this geopolitical reality now will be a serious problem in the very near future.
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