Britain rejects Spanish offer for talks to resolve Gibraltar dispute
Iran Press TV
Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:6PM GMT
The UK government has dismissed an offer put forward by Spain for the two European countries to hold one-on-one talks over the disputed territory of Gibraltar’s sovereignty, local media reported.
The development came after Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, called for bilateral negotiations to be held "as soon as possible".
"Since the beginning of the current legislature, the Spanish government has urged the UK to resume bilateral negotiations as soon as possible on issues of Gibraltar's sovereignty, which have been on hold for too long," wrote Garcia-Margallo.
A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron reacted to the article, stressing that London would not enter into any talks on the issue of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
"Sovereignty is clear in our minds," said the spokeswoman, adding that Westminster only supports talks between Spain and Gibraltar over how to do fishing in nearby waters.
A diplomatic war of words, which turned to a row between Spain and Britain, erupted last month after Gibraltar authorities built an artificial reef in contested waters using concrete blocks.
Madrid believes the reef is harming Spanish fishermen, since it restricted access to the sea.
Spanish fishermen have complained that since the artificial reef was constructed they have lost a large proportion of their annual revenue as they no longer have access to rich fishing grounds.
In response, Spain imposed strict border controls on vehicles coming to or leaving the so-called Rock, creating long queues for workers and tourists entering Gibraltar.
However, the European Commission said on Monday it would dispatch a fact-finding mission to Gibraltar to investigate whether border controls are legitimate or not.
This is while that Spain enjoys the capability to conduct proportionate border checks since Gibraltar is not part of the Schengen open border agreement between some EU member states.
The Spanish government highlights smuggling as one of the main reasons behind decision to tighten its border controls.
The British military has dispatched several warships to the Mediterranean enclave including HMS Westminster, which docked at the so-called Rock’s naval base yesterday, accompanied by two smaller support vessels.
HMS Westminster, a Type 23 frigate fitted out with torpedoes, anti-ship and surface to air missiles as well as an anti-submarine helicopter arrived on Monday after a six-day-long sail from the UK’s southern naval port in Portsmouth.
London claims the “long-planned annual deployment” of the nine-vessel group is to take part in naval war-games, but the Spanish consider the deployment as a provocative move.
Gibraltar was occupied by Britain in 1713 and has been since a bone of contention between Madrid and London.
Spain claims ownership over the territory with a population of about thirty thousand. It ceded Gibraltar to Britain in a treaty three-hundred years ago.
The United Nations (UN) lists the strategic 6.8-kilometer area that overlooks the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean as a territory waiting to be decolonized.
MOL/HE
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