Blinken concluye su gira diplomática en Argelia

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's diplomatic tour of the Middle East and North Africa is coming to an end. The Secretary of State has landed in Algeria, where he has come to consolidate the new world order in the region, at a time when Europe is going through one of its most difficult moments.

The Algerian foreign minister, Ramtan Lamrara, went to the airport to welcome Blinken, in what would already be his last stop in the region. The US Secretary of State will also meet with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboun later in the day after a press conference at the Algerian embassy. However, little else is known about the meeting, as the Foreign Ministry has not provided further details on the issues to be discussed. 

From Israel, Blinken has travelled to the Maghreb in just five days. The frenzy of this diplomatic trip underscores the US intention to seal the good cooperation and diplomacy it maintains with the region as a result of the Abraham Accords, historic pacts that forged diplomatic relations for the first time between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

This meeting also comes at a time when Morocco and Spain have resumed diplomatic relations, following the Spanish government's new position defending and supporting Morocco's proposal for autonomy for Rabat on the Western Sahara issue. This highly symbolic and significant development has turned Spain's position on the sovereignty of its former colony around, something that has been applauded by the United States and supported by part of the European Union. 

Blinken's visit to the Maghreb, first to Morocco and then to Algeria, is not trivial, as since Spain announced its new position, Algeria has distanced itself from Madrid and announced that it will 'review all the agreements' signed between the two countries. Similarly, Algeria has staged a first meeting with Italy, after stating that it will be its new "energy partner". 

The current situation between Morocco and Algeria remains frozen. Last August Algiers decided to unilaterally break off relations with Rabat, after the latter reproached Moroccan support for the Kabyle tribes' independence movement and expressed its dissatisfaction with the kingdom's latest foreign policies. At the same time, Algiers closed the Maghreb gas pipeline, which transported Algerian gas to the peninsula via Morocco, which meant that new alternatives had to be sought for gas supply, using the Medgaz pipeline. 

These events have led to significant unrest in North Africa, in addition to the current conflict in Ukraine after Russia decided to invade the country militarily more than a month ago.

The conflict in Eastern Europe has taken on an international character that has affected European security cooperation, gas prices and the scarcity of basic resources. Similarly, prior to Moscow's invasion, Algeria emerged as a strategic partner of Russia, particularly in the military sphere.

Last October Algeria and Russia began joint military operations in North Ossetia in the North Caucasus Federal District. These exercises were a further demonstration of the good relations between the two countries, as well as of their commitment to further deepening them. Algeria is Moscow's third largest arms customer after China and India.

Just as Russia has repeatedly shown its support for Algeria, the United States has shown its support for Morocco. The US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara marked a turning point in US-Moroccan relations, and cooperation between the two has been ongoing ever since. In this respect, the North African chessboard continues to be the scene of geopolitical disputes between two of the world's most important and prominent international powers. 

On the other hand, Algeria's cooling of relations with Morocco is due to the fact that the country wishes to establish itself as one of the most influential countries in North Africa. For its part, Moscow has not wanted to miss the opportunity with Algiers and has seen this as an opportunity to continue expanding its influence on the African continent, as it has already done in countries such as Mali, Egypt and Libya.

A consequence of this is the position that a significant number of African countries have maintained with regard to the Russian invasion. This was demonstrated by a total of 17 countries at the UN General Assembly when they decided to abstain from condemning the attacks. Eritrea, however, directly opposed the condemnation, in an exercise that international analysts say is due to the important influence Russia is trying to exert on the continent.

Parallel to Russia and the United States is China. The Asian giant is currently expanding its influence on the continent through the construction of new infrastructure, trade agreements and the creation of new means of communication, all of which are directed by Beijing's policies.

China, the United States and Russia are vying for influence at a time when multilateralism has proven to be the basic tool for the new configuration of the world order. The conflict in Ukraine is also a sign of this, and in turn has shown that the world is more polarised than ever. 

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra