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Spain appointed a new ambassador to Argentina on Tuesday, turning the page on a diplomatic crisis sparked by a war of words between their leaders that left the post vacant for five months.
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Madrid withdrew its envoy to Buenos Aires in May after libertarian Argentinian President Javier Milei exchanged insults and bitter recrimination with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s left-wing government.
Milei said Sanchez had a “corrupt wife” during a far-right conference in Madrid, prompting Spain to recall its ambassador in protest at his “insults” and “interference in internal affairs”.
Milei blasted the Spanish government representatives for triggering the diplomatic spat by describing him as “xenophobic, racist, ultra-right… a science denier, a misogynist”, with one minister suggesting he took drugs.
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Spain’s foreign ministry said the cabinet approved the appointment of Joaquin Maria de Aristegui Laborde on Tuesday.
Both countries’ foreign ministries released a joint statement saying: “The relationship between our governments should match the intensity of the ties that unite our peoples.”
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“Therefore, we pledge to strengthen our relationship so that it reaches the highest level of confidence and mutual respect in political and institutional terms that our peoples deserve.”
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