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Thursday, April 18, 2024 20:59 GMT
Algeria seeks to tighten ties with Algeria and to bring them to the level of political understanding between the two countries, affirmed President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune. In an interview with the "Russia Today Arabic" television channel broadcast on Friday, Tebboune said: "we want to raise our relations with Russia, which is almost a brotherly country and not just a friendly one, to the level of political understanding and similar principles of liberation. We also want to develop economic and cultural relations with this country.” In this wake, the President of the Republic said that Algeria was honoured to forge close ties with Russia, a country with a historical and cultural legacy, which are equal to the political rapprochement and the convergence of views between the two countries."Algeria does not have and will not have any problem with Russia since we share the same principles," he said.As part of the joint steps to strengthen bilateral relations, President Tebboune said he had received an invitation from his counterpart Vladimir Putin for a visit to Russia, a visit that "pleases him" but had to be postponed due to his "busy" agenda.In response to a question about the return of Algerian diplomacy to the international scene with an intense activity, Tebboune said that Algeria, "by its credibility and integrity", is "able to play the role of mediator" and "its approach is disinterested because it is based on the principles of its Glorious Revolution of November 1", recalling "the great experience of Algeria in this area, especially in terms of mediation since independence.”"The return of Algerian diplomacy is a popular demand, stemming from the deep conviction of Algerians in the virtues of unity, especially when it comes to our brothers (...). It is difficult for us to see an Arab people suffering and not to act. The case is the same for non-Arab peoples. Algerian diplomacy is known for its role in several issues around the world (East Timor, Sao Tome and Principe, apartheid in South Africa, the Palestinian question, Western Sahara and Libya), he stressed.Concerning Libya, President Tebboune said that "Algeria's steps to resolve the crisis in this brotherly country certainly obey the common denominators between the two countries and peoples, the Algerian and Libyan ones, such as language, religion and neighbourliness, but above all an "unforgettable" duty of gratitude for the Algerian people towards the Libyan people, namely its support for our War of National Liberation.As for the numerous visits of foreign officials to Algeria, President Tebboune said that Algeria, stemming from its principle of non-alignment, was careful to "observe equidistance vis-à-vis all the protagonists and all the actors in any issue", assuring that "playing a role of mediator means being careful not to take sides.”Regarding Turkey, the President of the Republic said: "we have with this country a solid secular relationship and our relations are continuing. Algeria cannot be involved in a policy that it has not chosen. Our policy is our choice and cannot be imposed on us," he continued.As for the planned visit of the Emir of Qatar, the President of the Republic stated that "the Emir of Qatar is a brother who is welcome. We expect no quid pro quo from the Qatari, Emirati, Saudi, Egyptian or even other friendly countries.”In the same regard, Tebboune said “I wanted to visit Saudi Arabia but my busy internal agenda with the opening of several sites led me to postpone the visit to this brotherly country.”Regarding relations with Morocco and the possibility of opening the borders, the President of the Republic affirmed that "for an evil to disappear, its causes should be removed. No reproach can be made to Algeria for an insult to Morocco or its people...""The Algerian people have feelings of esteem and fraternity for their Moroccan brother...", he said, stressing the reciprocity of the Moroccan people as demonstrated by the atmosphere of shared joy in several Moroccan cities when Algeria won the last African Cup, held in Egypt.Concerning Algeria's position on the "Deal of the Century", the president recalled that "Algeria's position vis-à-vis the Palestinian Cause is a position of immutable principle", urging the Palestinians to reunify their ranks to get out of "the situation of division and dispersion" that Palestine and even Arab countries are experiencing.Tebboune said he was "convinced" that this deal "cannot succeed because it is not based on logical, historical or ethical foundations, or even on the principles of international law.”The plan "is logically doomed to failure" and the Palestinian state "will inevitably be established,” affirmed the head of state.As for the role Algeria can play, the President of the Republic said that the United States "is a friendly country with which we have never had a problem. Algeria's voice is the voice of the law."A whole people cannot be wiped off the map just like that. The voices against this Deal in the U.S. Congress and the European Union (EU), in addition to its rejection by the states of the Liberation Movements and even by a large part of Israeli society, confirm that it is doomed to fail,” said President Tebboune.With regard to the situation in Syria, Tebboune reaffirmed that Algeria, faithful to its principles, "cannot accept any attack on an Arab country," recalling that "Syria is one of the founding countries of the Arab League.”What has weakened Syria at the international level," he said," is being the only country that has never considered normalization (with Israel) and has always been a front-line state, a position that has for years underpinned its politics, economy and institutions, resulting in narrowing of democratic space and freedoms."Regarding the calendar of political reforms in Algeria, President Tebboune affirmed that "the constitutional revision will be completed before the beginning of summer 2020 at the latest. Before the end of 2020, the Constitution and the electoral law will be ready. Later legislative and local elections will be held."Concerning appeals for the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of anticipated legislative elections before the amendment of the Constitution, Tebboune said that "building a house requires that we start by the foundations".The Constitution is "the foundation of any State. So it is not normal to start with elections before defining the role of elected officials and the monitoring question," he explained"The same reasons produce the same effects; the dissolution of the Parliament and the organization of legislative elections will lead to the same result, because dirty money continues to circulate and influence peddling still exists.""Once all these legal aspects have been regulated and certain practices have been criminalized, we can move towards a Parliament, which most members would be young intellectuals having enough moral authority to work," he said.In response to a question about the popular movement Hirak that the country has experienced for one year, the President of the Republic said that he "has knowingly qualified the Hirak as ‘blessed’," pointing out that "the Algerian State was on the brink of collapsing. That was part of the scheme of those who wanted to make Algeria another Syria, another Libya or another Iraq."The "Hirak saved the Algerian State from the autocratic drifts and the repercussions of the persistence of the political tragedy Algeria has lived," he saidPresident Tebboune said that Algeria ambitioned, under his mandate, "to building a clean and honest economy, the main purpose of which is the creation of wealth and jobs and addressing the social tragedy inflicted on the citizen.""The stake is to end dependence on oil sale revenues and to search for other resources in order to build an economy which is not centered on import but founded on logical and nationalist bases, an economy benefiting the country and the citizen only," he insisted.Concerning shale gas, the President of the Republic recalled that this question "was used to arouse anger"."I have never said that we were going to exploit shale gas," he said, underlining that he had “simply referred to figures to say that development and growth of Algeria made us consume half of our gas production."The "decision (of exploiting shale or not) is subject to the conclusions of the experts," he affirmed.In this regard, Tebboune said that Algeria possesses multiple resources, most of which are unknown underexploited, citing "agriculture, both in the north and in the south of the country."Desert agriculture "is not underexploited, despite the existence of underground waters, which are estimated at 15,000 billion m3, besides the vast tracts of agricultural lands.""With limited technical means, production of the agricultural sector in Algeria amounted to US$18 billion," he continued, referring to the "significant human potential as nearly 200,000 students are graduated from Algerian universities."