Spain insists on bilateral sovereignty talks after Hammond visit

The trilateral forum for dialogue “is extinct”, the Spanish Government said last night as it insisted on bilateral talks with the UK over the sovereignty of Gibraltar.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which said Gibraltar had been “amputated” from Spain, was reacting to Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond’s visit to the Rock yesterday.

During his brief stay here, Mr Hammond reiterated the UK commitment to never enter into a deal or discussions on sovereignty against the wishes of the Gibraltarians.

In a statement, the Spanish ministry repeated its longstanding position on Gibraltar and territorial integrity.

“The colonial situation of Gibraltar is an anachronism…” it said, citing UN work on decolonisation.

“This colonial vestige destroys the national unity and territorial integrity of Spain and is incompatible with UN Resolution 1514 of 1960 on decolonisation.”

The Spanish Government said it had repeated on numerous occasions its desire to engage in bilateral sovereignty talks with Britain in line with UN resolutions.

But it had done so “…without obtaining a response to date.”