ALGERIA AND NON-ALIGNMENT

When it is said that Algeria is aligned with Russia, it is necessary to place that phrase in a real perspective and take into account that Algeria was one of the founding countries of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The conference held in Bandung in April 1955 brought together 29 countries that refused to align themselves or establish alliances with one of the two great blocs. The main members were Indonesia, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Algeria. In 2005, considering the cold war to be a thing of the past, the participants created a new body called the “Asian-African Strategic Partnership”. The new context was no longer so rigid and the establishment of agreements in different areas with Russia and the US were left to the discretion of its members.

However, the Non-Aligned continue to exist and currently group 120 countries. 20 observers and 10 international organizations. The agreement to hold a conference of Heads of State and Government at various intervals is maintained.

But as a result of the decision of the Spanish government, in 1975, to cede the administration of Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania, Algiers and Rabat entered into a conflict that has worsened year after year after Morocco rejected the holding of a referendum on self-determination of the Saharawis, which the United Nations has requested so far without success,

It was to be expected that the tense relations between Algiers and Rabat (they are currently broken) would provoke an arms race. Algeria, when it achieved independence in 1962, and there is proof of this, wanted to formalize arms and military assistance contracts with the United States, but Washington rejected all of them (it only accepted the sale of civil aircraft) alluding to the fact that Algiers was a "disturbing" element. " in Africa. Morocco, on the other hand, received and continues to receive all the military assistance it requests from Washington. In addition, he now has the support of Israel.

By simple logic, Algeria required the USSR and then Russia to sell arms and military assistance to counteract the Washington-Rabat alliance. Algerian officers were able to enter Russian military academies and today it can be said that 90 percent of their military personnel were acquired in Russia. 5 percent comes from China and the rest (military transport) from France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Does this mean that Algeria is increasingly aligned with Russia, as a member of the Spanish government has pointed out? This signature is too risky and there is no concrete evidence that this is the case. The only thing that exists is armed forces equipped with Russian material because the United States never wanted to sell arms to Algiers. Algeria had to turn to someone who could help it, bearing in mind that Morocco maintains an aggressive policy on Western Sahara and does not negotiate or give up an iota on that territory.

Algeria, according to European military experts, has powerful armed forces capable of facing those of Morocco, there is no doubt about that. The situation has evolved and NATO maintains sporadic contacts with Algiers, which is no longer considered a "polluter". The Pentagon also maintains this type of relationship and there is an exchange of high-ranking officials on both sides.