Spanish king snubs Argentina’s Milei amid diplomatic tensions

Spain’s king is refusing to grant an audience to Argentina’s President Javier Milei when he visits Madrid on Friday, according to reports in the Spanish media.

Despite requesting a meeting with the Spanish head of state, King Felipe VI, who is celebrating 10 years on the throne this week, Milei is not on the royal household’s agenda.

The snub comes after Milei attacked Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife on a number of occasions. At a far-right rally in Madrid last month, he described Sánchez’s wife as “corrupt,” and later called Sánchez “the laughingstock of Europe in diplomatic matters.”

The Spanish government responded by recalling its ambassador to Buenos Aires and demanding the Argentinian president publicly apologize. Spain’s foreign minister threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Argentina entirely unless an apology was issued, but Milei refused.

A spokesperson for the palace told Spanish newspaper El País that visits from foreign leaders are coordinated with the Foreign Ministry. The ministry said it doesn’t “comment on the agenda of foreign leaders.”

Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Thursday it is “logical that the king does not want to meet with Milei” as the Argentinian president has “disrespected the [prime minister] of Spain.”

“No Spaniard can accept that because the [prime minister] belongs to all Spaniards, to those who have voted for him and to those who have not,” Robles told Spanish television channel Telecinco.

The king and Milei have met before, with the Spanish head of state attending Milei’s inauguration. Both were also present at the investiture of the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele earlier this month.

Milei is travelling to Madrid to accept an award from a libertarian thinktank.