https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/politics/trump-spain-sahara-wall-intl/index.htmlQuote
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell claims that US President Donald Trump suggested Spain should build a wall across the Sahara desert to deal with the issue of migration from Africa.
Borrell made the remarks in a speech Tuesday during a lunch at Club Siglo XXI in Madrid, in reference to the expected massive growth in the number of young Africans seeking work in the next two decades. He did not specify where Trump had spoken but described it as happening "recently."
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"You need to build a wall around the Sahara," Trump said, according to Borrell. The minister impersonated Trump's voice as he spoke, according to an audio file heard by CNN.
The White House disputed the account.
"While we can confirm that the President has discussed migration challenges with Spanish interlocutors, we do not have record of this specific comment," a senior White House official told CNN.
According to the Spanish foreign minister, Trump, asked if he was aware of the size of the Sahara, replied: "It can't be bigger than our border with Mexico."
Borrell continued: "Well, yes, it is way bigger than the border with Mexico, and in any case it wouldn't be very useful to do that."
A spokesman for the Spanish Foreign Ministry confirmed to Borrell's comments to CNN but said the ministry had no further comment in relation to the minister's remarks.
The Sahara desert extends for nearly 3,000 miles across the African continent. Around a dozen countries lie wholly or in part within the Sahara, including Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Egypt, Algeria, Chad and Niger. Spain is not one of them, so any wall would have to be built entirely on other nations' land.
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