MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar: Spain manages Ibero-American summit support for its sovereignty claim

Spain confirmed that the 32 countries attending the summit have supported a call on the United Kingdom to start bilateral sovereignty talks over the Rock.

For the first time ever, an annual Latin American Summit has endorsed Spain’s position on Gibraltar. Spain’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation in Latin America confirmed that the 32 countries attending have supported Spain’s call to the United Kingdom to start bilateral sovereignty talks over the Rock.

 The British government has repeatedly said that Gibraltar must participate “in its own right” in any process of dialogue and that this is “non-negotiable”.

The Latin American Summit meets every year and normally issues a similar plea to the British government to negotiate over the Falklands bilaterally with Argentina.

But it’s the first time they do so with Gibraltar. According to Spanish news agency Europa Press, a Spanish diplomat confirmed Spain no longer feels it has to limit its claim to the United Nations; after the Brexit vote, Spain is reportedly more willing to escalate this in other international fora and less concerned about the potential impact on its relationship with the U.K.

The Spanish King addressed the summit in Cartagena (Columbia), which Spain and Mexico principally organize.

A free translation of the Summit's statement on Gibraltar proposed by Spain follows: “the Heads of State and Government of the IberoAmerican countries meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in occasion of the XXV IberoAmerican summit: reaffirm the need to end the colonial situation as has been defined by the pertinent UN resolutions, and call on the governments of Spain and the UK to resume bilateral negotiations, in the spirit of the Brussels Declaration subscribed by Spain and the UK on 27 November 1984, for a definitive solution to the Gibraltar question in the light of the UN General Assembly pertinent resolutions and relevant principles and in conformity with the UN Charter spirit.

”Take notice of the proposal presented by Spain in its intervention last 4 October in the IV Session of the UN General Assembly. Reiterate the importance that the governments of Spain and UK accord a solution which is beneficial for all sides as for the socio-economic development of the zone”.