Madrid, May 22 Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has announced the definitive withdrawal of the country's ambassador to Argentina, local media reported.
The move comes on Tuesday in the wake of provocative comments made by Argentinian President Javier Milei about the Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez, and his wife.
The comments were made during a rally by the far-right Vox party in the Spanish capital Madrid on Sunday, and no apology has been made since, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Albares said that "the Government remains vigilant, the situation has not changed and therefore I announce that we are withdrawing our ambassador (Maria Jesus Alonso) in Buenos Aires".
Alonso, who had been called for consultations on Sunday, "will stay in Madrid and Argentina will continue without an ambassador," the Minister said.
On Monday, Albares summoned the Argentine Ambassador to Spain, Roberto Sebastian Bosch, to the Ministry headquarters, to demand a public apology from Milei.
"I conveyed to the Argentine Ambassador in Madrid that we demanded a public apology for what was an assault on the good faith and hospitality of the Spanish institutions," Albares said.
Security protection at an air base in Madrid was offered, he added.
"The response to that good faith and hospitality was a frontal attack with insults to our institutions, therefore Argentina will have to continue without a Spanish ambassador," he said.
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