MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain wants to renew bilateral talks with UK on Gibraltar’s sovereignty

Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Trinidad Jimenez

New Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez has declared that her objective in respect of Gibraltar is “to generate enough confidence to renew bilateral talks about Gibraltar’s sovereignty with the British Government.”

She was speaking in the Madrid senate ahead of a planned political meeting of the Tripartite Forum (UK, Spain, Gibraltar) with Chief Gibraltar Minister Peter Caruana in relation to police, customs and judicial cooperation and territorial waters.

Responding to criticisms of the Tripartite Forum made by the opposition PP spokesman Javier Arenas, Ms Jimenez declared that Spain’s objectives in respect of sovereignty “could not be modified as this is a consequence of the defence of Spanish national interests, which are above situations and people”.

However she reaffirmed the Spanish Government’s support for the Tripartite Forum as an instrument that could deliver agreements “that benefit the population on both sides of the fence without entering into sovereignty discussions.”

The Minister also called on the Partido Popular to show “the same loyalty” she had professed to the then PP Foreign Minister Josep Pique during the time she was international secretary of the PSOE party.