The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, is trying to lower tensions with Germany after the release of president Carles Puigdemont on bail and the rejection by a German court of extraditing him on the charge of rebellion. In this attempt, Rajoy has said that the German government's approach to the case of Puigdemont has been "exemplary" as they haven't entered into what they consider a legal matter.
Rajoy made the comment during a press conference in Buenos Aires alongside the Argentinian president, Mauricio Macri. The Spanish prime minister called for respect for all legal decisions and said that the behaviour of Angela Merkel's German government has been "befitting of one of the classic, first-rate European nations".
Rajoy's comments come after tension between the two government caused by comments by German justice minister, Katarina Barley. The minister was quoted as calling the German court's decision on Puigdemont "absolutely correct" and saying that it wouldn't be easy for Spain to argue for Puigdemont's extradition for misuse of public funds. This Monday, after a conversation with her Spanish counterpart, her comments were attributed to a "misunderstanding".
Barley, however, hasn't been the only one to make such comments after the German court's decision on Puigdemont. Deputy president of SPD in the Bundestag, Rolf Mützenich, commented that he could understand the Schleswig-Holstein higher regional court discounting the charge of rebellion: "the Spanish government should accept that the German judiciary decides independently of political instructions".
Other PP officials, like foreign minister Alfonso Dastis, described Barley's comments as "misguided", saying they were not "befitting of friendly countries".