‘Corrupt wife’ row: Spain ‘definitively’ withdraws ambassador to Argentina, Milei calls decision ‘absurd’
Milei, Sanchez
Spain on Tuesday (May 21) announced that it will "definitively" withdraw its ambassador to Argentina. This comes as President Javier Milei refused to apologise for calling Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife "corrupt".
'Absurd,typical of an arrogant socialist'
Reacting to Spain's decision to withdraw its ambassador from Argentina, Milei, as perAFP,labelledit "absurd".
"It is absurd, typical of an arrogant socialist," hesaid.
Also read |Spain demands apology from Argentina’s Milei for ‘corrupt’ comment against PM Sanchez’s wife
On Tuesday, Spain's foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares announced that the Spanish envoy "will remain definitively in Madrid. Argentina will no longer have a Spanish ambassador."
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What happened?
The diplomatic row began when Milei, speaking at a far-right Vox party conference in Madrid, launched an attack on socialism.
"The global elites don't realise how destructive it can be to implement the ideas of socialism," he said adding, "They don't know the type of society and country that can produce, the type of people clinging to power and the level of abuse that generates."
He then went on to allegedly indirectly refer to Sanchez's wife, Begona Gomez, calling her "corrupt," further escalating tensions between the two nations.
"When you have a corrupt wife, let's say, it gets dirty, and you take five days to think about it."
Sanchez, a Socialist, had recently faced a brief corruption investigation concerning his wife, which was quickly closed.
Spain demanded 'public apology' from Milei
Within hours of Milei's comments, Spain recalled its ambassador and Albares demanded a "public apology" from Milei, warning that Madrid might sever diplomatic ties.
Sanchez also called on Milei to retract his statement.
However, the Argentine government rejected the demand, labelling Spain's actions as "flashy and impulsive threats" and insisting that Sanchez's government should apologise instead.
The recent incident has exacerbated weeks of growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, including a previous accusation by a Spanish minister suggesting that Milei used drugs.
(With inputs from agencies)
