FILE PHOTO: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begona Gomez arrive to San Sebastian Film Festival, in San Sebastian, Spain, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain appointed a new ambassador to Buenos Aires on Tuesday, five months after having withdrawn its envoy in a diplomatic dispute over Argentine President Javier Milei's derogatory comments about the wife of Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez.
Without directly referring to the incident, the foreign ministries of Spain and Argentina vowed in a joint statement to "strengthen our relationship so that it reaches the maximum level of trust and mutual respect in political and institutional terms that our people deserve".
Speaking at a rally in Madrid organised by far-right party Vox, Milei in May called Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez "corrupt" and later refused to apologise, leading Spain to announce the withdrawal of its ambassador to "defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions".
The move is a diplomatic measure considered one step short of severing diplomatic ties.
In a news conference after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which approved the appointment of Joaquin Laborde as the new ambassador, Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegria declined to say whether Milei had ultimately apologised.
Gomez has been the subject of an ongoing Madrid court investigation into accusations of influence peddling and business corruption in a university master's degree course that she ran.
Sanchez has repeatedly denied the accusations against her, saying they were baseless and orchestrated by right-wing political foes. She has not been charged with any crimes.
Argentina maintained its ambassador to Madrid during the period.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)
