Spain's
Gonzalo de
Benito Gives
Different
Answers on W.
Sahara in
French,
Spanish
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 23 --
Spain's State
Secretary for
Foreign
Affairs
Gonzalo de
Benito on
Wednesday at
the UN gave
different
answers in
Spanish then
French about
Western Sahara
and UN envoy
Christopher
Ross.
Inner
City Press
asked Gonzalo
de Benito
about
Morocco's
recent call
that
Ross be
removed as
mediator. He
replied that
Spain was
involved, as
part of the
Group of
Friends on
Western
Sahara, in
negotiating
and
finalizing the
recent UN
Security
Council
resolution on
Western
Sahara.
He added that
the resolution
expresses
confidence in
Ross, a
confidence now
publicly not
shared by
Morocco.
But
when asked by
a Moroccan
reporter to
repeat his
answer in
French,
Gonzalo de
Benito
discussed the
resolution but
omitted the
reference
to confidence
in Ross; he
said Spain had
met with a
Moroccan
minister
on Friday and
followed the
issue closely,
hoping for a
solution.
This mirror
the office of
Secretary
General Bank
Ki-moon, which
just this week
has said Ban
has full
confidence in
Ross, then
that he NOT
traveling to
the region, as
was expected.
At Wednesday's
noon briefing
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
why Ross won't
travel and was
told, that's
for Mr. Ross
to
answer.
So we'll wait.
Gonzalo
de Benito in
Spanish told
the Press that
Spain has
close
relations with
"Polisario."
But in French,
he did not
mention the
Frente (or
Front)
Polisario, but
rather the
people of
Western
Sahara.
Inner
City Press
also asked
Gonzalo de
Benito, what
is Spain's
future with
the UNIFIL
mission in
Lebanon? He
gave a long
answer about
the
mission being
reconfigured
but said that,
as in
Afghanistan
and the
anti-piracy
ATALANTA
mission, Spain
remains fully
committed.
But
isn't Spain
reducing its
commitment,
Inner City
Press asked,
by 20%?
Gonzalo de
Benito paused
and called
this a small
reduction. He
said
he would be
meeting with
the UN
Peacekeeping
chief, Herve
"The
Drone" Ladsous
(so-named
because he has
proposed that
the UN use
drones) in the
afternoon.
Ladsous was
involved in
changing and
watering down
the most
recent Western
Sahara report.
Watch this
site.
Footnotes:
In
other answers,
Gonzalo de
Benito
reiterated
Spain's
position on
Gibraltar
(reportedly,
the dispute
led to Spain's
royals not
attending the
Queen of
England's
recent shindig
), and said
that
while Repsol
is taking the
steps one
would expect
of a company,
Spain's
relations with
Argentina
remain good.
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