UPDATE - French Foreign Minister Speaks For Resumption Of Trusting Relations With Algeria

UPDATE - French Foreign Minister Speaks for Resumption of Trusting Relations With Algeria

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2021) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for resumption of trusting relations between Paris and Algeria and for the deepening of cooperation between the countries.

The French minister on Wednesday paid a working visit to Algeria to assess bilateral relations.

"The purpose of this visit is to renew trusting relations between our two countries, relations marked by respect for each other's sovereignty, as well as look into the future in order to work on reviving and deepening our partnership, which is necessary," Le Drian said in a statement after a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Le Drian noted that France and Algeria have close ties.

The French minister expressed his desire to work to eliminate obstacles and misunderstandings that may exist between the two countries.

"During our discussions, we agreed to resume certain types of cooperation.

This will lead to the resumption of an operational dialogue on humanitarian and migration issues. It also represents the resumption of dialogue on the fight against terrorism; finally, it represents joint efforts to ensure the security of our two countries," Le Drian said.

"We hope that the dialogue we are resuming today can lead to a resumption of political discussions between our governments in 2022," the French minister said.

Tensions between Paris and Algeria erupted in October.

Tebboune said the decision to withdraw the Algerian ambassador from Paris was made after "irresponsible" statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. He stressed that interference in the country's internal affairs is unacceptable. Macron, quoted by Le Monde newspaper, said that "the official history" of Algeria is allegedly "completely rewritten." It was also reported that Algeria closed its airspace to French military aircraft.