The Principality of Andorra has aligned itself with the position of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, regarding its position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, distancing itself from the postulates backed by the Spanish government of Pedro Sánchez. The question about the diplomatic relationships of the Pyrenean microstate has emerged in the last few hours after the until-now Israeli ambassador to Spain and Andorra, Rodica Radian-Gordon, visited the country discreetly to say goodbye to its authorities. The Andorran government chose to give low-key communication of the meeting that the Israeli diplomat held with the head of the Andorran government, Xavier Espot, but, in the end, he ended up posting a photo on X, showing the two of them expressing mutual gratitude.
Hem acomiadat l’ambaixadora d'Israel, Rodica Radian-Gordon, i li hem agraït les accions impulsades durant el seu mandat per reforçar la cooperació entre els nostres dos països. pic.twitter.com/u7Vi4j5DkV
— Xavier Espot Zamora (@XavierEspot) June 6, 2024
Translation: "We have bid goodbye to the ambassador of Israel, Rodica Radian-Gordon, and thanked her for the actions promoted during her mandate to strengthen cooperation between our two countries."— Xavier Espot, head of Andorran government
The day after this visit, Andorra's foreign minister, Imma Tor, spoke about Andorra's policy towards Israel and, in an appearance before the legislative committee on foreign policy, defended that "the conditions are not met" for Andorra to recognize the Palestinian State, as Spain, Norway and Ireland did 10 days ago. The Andorran government says that, "in the short term", it does not intend to follow in Spain's footsteps on this matter, although it does support the two-state solution.
The Andorran minister stated that in order to recognize a state there must be an authority and in this regard she asked: "Who is the authority in Palestine?" Tor noted that Hamas is a terrorist organization and therefore not considered an authority. The Palestinian Authority, she said, has "neither the strength nor the maturity" necessary to take on the role that would correspond to it, according to the Europa Press agency.
Recognition of "contacts" but not "pressure" over Palestine
Responding to doubts from other Andorran parliamentarians, Tor acknowledged that there have been "contacts", but in no case "pressure", with other countries, such as Norway, Spain and Slovenia, to address the issue, and that these governments have asked the Principality what its position would be on the matter. The Andorran minister stated that the Principality's position is currently "quite close" to that of France. In fact, France was critical of the Spanish government after Madrid approved the recognition of Palestine as a State. The French government went so far as to denounce that it was an electoral move on the part of Pedro Sánchez's executive.
Regarding relations with Israel, the Andorran minister affirmed that the two states have "a very good relationship". In his message on Thursday, the Andorran head of government thanked the ambassador for "the actions promoted" during her mandate to strengthen cooperation between Andorra and Israel.
In the same parliamentary session, relationships with Catalonia and Spain were discussed due to the 24-hour road blocks imposed earlier this week by farmers. Opposition parliamentarians have considered that compensation should be claimed for the damage suffered by the Andorran economy.