US in talks with Spain on receiving Guantanamo inmates

Madrid – A US government delegation will visit Spain next week to discuss whether the country can take in Guantanamo detainees, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos announced on Saturday.

The minister said requests from the US would be looked at "in a positive fashion".

But he added considerations would be made while "respecting our internal laws and looking case by case at those who wish to be taken in by Spain."

Speaking after a meeting of the South Atlantic Initiative on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, Moratinos pointed out Madrid "has still not received a concrete request" to receive inmates from the American prison.

The South Atlantic Initiative has members from 15 countries who discuss cooperation and trade in the region.

Moratinos anticipated that on Monday a meeting of European Union foreign ministers would approve a joint EU-American declaration on how the EU could help bring an end to the "dramatic, tragic and unacceptable episode" of Guantanamo Bay.

British non-governmental organisation Reprieve, which represents more than 30 people locked up in Guantanamo, has said Spain is set to accept three or four detainees.

AFP / Expatica