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| - Spain's top diplomat has been forced to head off a clash with Morocco after a junior minister in Madrid referred to a representative from the Polisario Front separatists as "minister". The spat erupted on Friday following a tweet which appeared to show support for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a state declared by Western Sahara separatists Polisario in 1976 that has never been recognised by Spain. Western Sahara is a disputed former Spanish colony which Morocco claims as its own. The tweet did not go down well in Rabat, with Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya saying she had received "a call" about the meeting from her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita. "I made clear that what was published (on Twitter) did not reflect the position of the government, that the position of Spain on Western Sahara has not changed," she tweeted late on Sunday. "Spain does not recognise the SADR. We support the efforts of the UN secretary general to reach a peaceful solution (to the dispute) within the framework of UN Security Council resolutions." The tweet was posted on the official account of Nacho Alvarez, secretary of state for social rights and a member of the radical leftwing Podemos, whose leader Pablo Iglesias is a vice president in Spain's new coalition government. "Nacho Alvarez met today with Suilma Hay Enhamed Salem, the Sahrawi minister for social affairs and promotion of women," said the tweet which included four photos and expressed "solidarity with the Sahrawi people" before being later deleted. A part of Spain's new coalition government that took office in January, Podemos has previously expressed support for "the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people" and said it was in favour of "establishing high-level diplomatic ties with the SADR". But speaking to Spain's TVE channel, Iglesias was quick to take the government line on the disputed territory. "Spain's position in respect to Morocco and Western Sahara is determined by the foreign ministry," he said. When Spain withdrew from the North African territory in 1975, Rabat sent thousands of people across the border and claimed it was an integral part of Morocco, triggering a war of independence that lasted 16 years. A year after the fighting broke out, the Polisario Front issued a declaration renaming Western Sahara as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with backing from Algeria and Libya. The Polisario Front has repeatedly demanded a self-determination referendum to allow the people of Western Sahara choose between independence and integration with Morocco. hmw/mg/jv
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