A call from the King of Morocco to the President of Algeria to overcome the "unfortunate situation"

 Morocco / Algeria

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, called on Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to "work together, as soon as he sees fit, to develop brotherly relations" between the two countries, and said that "the current situation of these relations does not satisfy us, is not in the interest of our peoples, and is not accepted by many countries." ".

For decades, Algerian-Moroccan relations have been blocked due to the land borders closed since 1994, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front.

In 1994, Algeria closed the border with Morocco in response to Rabat's unilateral imposition of an entry visa on Algerians following an armed attack on a hotel in Marrakesh on August 24, 1994, and Rabat accused elements of Algerian origin of being behind it.

And King Mohammed VI added in a speech delivered yesterday evening, on the 22nd anniversary of his accession to the throne of Morocco  "We renew the sincere call for our brothers in Algeria to work together, without conditions, to build bilateral relations based on trust, dialogue and good neighborliness." he said that neither he nor the current Algerian president, nor even the former president (Abdelaziz Bouteflika) are responsible for the decision to close the borders between the two countries since 1995, considering that "open borders are the normal situation between two neighboring countries and two brotherly peoples, because closing the borders is incompatible with a natural right." and an authentic legal principle enshrined in international conventions.

"but we are politically and morally responsible, for its continuation (the closure decision), before God, before history, and before our citizens." he said that "there is no reasonable logic that can explain the current situation, especially since the reasons behind closing the borders have become overridden, and today they no longer have any acceptable justification."

Mohammed VI affirmed that "Morocco is keen to continue its sincere efforts to consolidate security and stability in its African and Euro-Mediterranean surroundings, especially in its Maghreb neighborhood." he continued, "I assure our brothers in Algeria that evil and problems will never come to you from Morocco, nor will any danger or threat come to you from it, because what touches you touches us, and what strikes you harms us." added, "We consider that Algeria's security and stability, and the tranquility of its people, are part of Morocco's security and stability," and that "what affects Morocco will also affect Algeria, because they are like one body," because "Morocco and Algeria are more than two neighboring countries, they are complementary twins."

The King of Morocco expressed his regret "for the media and diplomatic tensions in the relations between Morocco and Algeria, which harm the image of the two countries and leave a negative impression, especially in international forums."

The quarrels between Morocco and Algeria have entered a more acute phase at the diplomatic level, amid demands from the Algerian interior to recall the ambassador.

The recent crisis, which prompted the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accuse Morocco of supporting terrorist groups, came after a memorandum distributed by the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilal, as part of a detailed response to the intervention of Ramtane Lamamra, the Algerian Foreign Minister, during the general ministerial discussion at the Non-Groups Movement meeting. Bias held by default on July 13 and 14.

The memorandum addressed by the ambassador to the Azerbaijani presidency of the movement and distributed to all members, in which the Moroccan diplomat expressed his great surprise at the selection of the Algerian minister, who touched on the issue of the “Sahara” issue.

The Moroccan ambassador stressed that the "Sahara issue", which falls exclusively within the competence of the UN Security Council, was not on the meeting's agenda and is not related to its subject. several repercussions following the new station in the differences between the two countries that have existed for a while, as opinions differ as to whether matters will reach a diplomatic rupture, or will lead to broader interactions than the statements issued by Algeria, while the Algerian Foreign Ministry has not commented so far.

At first, Abdel-Wahhab bin Zaim, a member of the Algerian National Assembly, said that they were demanding the recall of the Algerian ambassador from Morocco and the expulsion of the Moroccan ambassador.in his speech to the Russian "Sputnik" agency, he added that what Morocco's delegate to the United Nations had done was an aggressive act planned by all Moroccan sides. he continued, "Morocco has entered into the taboo, by striking at the unity of the Algerian nation, and that relations can be frozen and that the next stage will be serious measures on the part of Algeria."

On the other hand, Nofal Al Bouamri, a Moroccan strategic analyst, said that the recent crisis is neither the first nor the last between the two countries, especially with the recent change in the Algerian Foreign Ministry and its appointment of Lamamra as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Al-Boamri believes that Lamamra's appointment is an indication of Algeria's desire for external escalation against Morocco, especially with regard to the national issue after the series of victories that Morocco achieved in the file.

The expert attributed the Algerian position to its inability to curb the suspension of the opening of consulates in Dakhla and El-Ayoun, as well as the security operation carried out by the Moroccan army in Guerguerat, which finally stopped the “Polisario” provocations at this border crossing between Morocco and Mauritania, according to his text. he pointed out that what he described as "skirmishes" may not amount to the withdrawal of ambassadors between the two countries, especially since the two countries have experienced stronger crises, but they did not reach the point of a diplomatic rupture. as he continued, "Morocco has never been the first to initiate friction with Algeria. Rather, its positions remained respectful and positive for this neighbor, and demanded the opening of the land borders, but Algeria insists on continuing its hostile policy towards Morocco and its vital issues."

Regarding the recent developments and the extent to which they established a new phase of tensions, he explained that the situation between the two countries is very complex and complex, and it is difficult to say that there is a new phase between them, and its impact on the overall joint files. he pointed out that Algeria had previously refused security cooperation with Morocco, especially in the aspect related to combating terrorism, according to "Sputnik".

The Algerian Foreign Ministry condemned the behavior of the Moroccan diplomatic representation in the United States of America during a meeting of the "Non-Aligned Movement", and called on the Moroccan authorities to provide an official clarification on what was stated in the memorandum.

The Algerian Ministry issued a strongly worded statement to the Moroccan side, after the Moroccan diplomatic representation distributed an official document to the members of the Non-Aligned Movement, which included Rabat's support for what it called the "independence of the Kabylie region", what Algeria considered "Moroccan participation in a campaign hostile to it and represents a serious deviation." ”, according to the Algerian News Agency.