Spain’s ‘U-turn’ on W. Sahara sends ambassadors in and out

MADRID (AP) — Morocco has reinstated its ambassador to Spain, effectively ending a 10-month row between the two key Mediterranean neighbors after Madrid shifted its long-standing position on Western Sahara, its former colony in North Africa. But the move has opened a new diplomatic front for Spain with Algeria — its other North Africa neighbor, a crucial natural gas supplier and Morocco’s regional foe. Algiers on Saturday recalled its own ambassador to Madrid in protest for Spain’s “U-turn.” Western Sahara, a vast territory largely barren but rich in phosphates and facing fertile fishing grounds in the Atlantic, is disputed between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front independence movement.