Spain withdraws ambassador indefinitely after Argentine president's comments

Argentine President Milei attended an event organized by the far-left Vox party in Spain in the capital Madrid on May 19. There, he made a statement that was considered offensive to the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, although he did not mention her name, according to Al Jazeera.

In his speech, he criticized the left, then mentioned "let's say if you have a corrupt wife and things go bad, you need five days to think about it".

Observers may see these words as aimed at the Spanish Prime Minister's family. In April, Mr. Pedro Sanchez stopped public activities for 5 days to consider resigning, after the court opened an investigation into his wife, Mrs. Begona Gomez, on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Argentine President Javier Milei attends an event organized by the Vox party in Spain on May 19.

Following President Javier Milei's remarks, the Spanish Foreign Ministry recalled the ambassador and asked Milei to apologize, but the president refused. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on May 21: "The ambassador will remain in Madrid indefinitely." Alberes said the Spanish Embassy in Argentina will now be headed by a charge d'affaires, according to Reuters.

"We do not want any escalation, but the government has a duty to defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions, especially when an act of aggression occurs in the capital," he said.

AFP on May 21 quoted President Javier Milei as calling the decision to withdraw the Spanish ambassador "absurd", stressing that his administration would not do the same as a tit-for-tat response. "It was an anonymous comment, on which Mr. Sanchez used it to escalate diplomacy in a meaningless way," Mr. Milei said.

In addition to Mr. Milei, the Vox party's campaign on May 19 also had the participation of right-wing politicians in Europe, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President of the French National Front party Marine Le Pen.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tay-ban-nha-rut-dai-su-vo-thoi-han-sau-binh-luan-cua-tong-thong-argentina-185240521192011579.htm