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Rabat – While Morocco was invited, and by some expected, to attend the Berlin II Conference on Libya, Rabat chose to forgo the international talks.
The diplomatic rift between Morocco and Germany appears to have come full circle. What began, at least in part, due to Germany’s decision to leave Morocco out of its 2020 Berlin Conference on Libya, has turned around to Rabat snubbing this year’s invitation due to undisclosed reasons.
For many Rabat’s move was surprising, especially coming mere weeks after Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita’s remarks reaffirming Morocco’s “unconditional support” for Libya. This was only further cemented when the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh flew to Morocco to discuss bilateral issues following the Berlin conference.
But those that allowed themselves to be surprised, have surely forgotten Rabat’s staunch attitude towards matters of national interest.
It is as Bourita said in 2020, in response to a wave of protests against any possibility of renewed ties between Morocco and Israel, “no, we must not be more Palestinian than Palestinians themselves.” That is to say, let Palestinians present their own position, before jumping to any predisposed conclusions as an outsider.
For Bourita “the first issue for Moroccan diplomacy is the issue of the Moroccan Sahara,” which he said in response to criticism levied by other Moroccan deputies who prioritized the Palestinian cause over Morocco’s own national interests.
Within such context, Morocco’s staunch position on not giving Berlin even an inch becomes more clear. When it comes to Morocco’s national interests, particularly its sovereignty over Western Sahara — which Germany continues to disregard — Rabat will not hand over any concessions.
This mindset is common enough in all strata of Moroccan society. From concerned Moroccan netizens who make time to remind the world on every social media post that it’s Moroccan not Western Sahara, to some of society’s upper echelons.
The governor of Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, Abdellatif Jouahri reiterated the sentiment, saying that “what affects Morocco’s national sovereignty and our territorial integrity is not negotiable.”
First Libyan conference
The first Berlin Conference on Libya which was held in January 2020 had a very little measurable effect on the stability of the North African country. In fact, within a month following the peace summit, numerous arms violations unraveled in the warring territory.
Even though at the summit, the participants — Algeria, France, Germany, Turkey, the UK, and the US among them — agreed to uphold the arms embargo, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the fact that arms deliveries to various Libyan forces continued, and fighting only escalated further.
If the first conference is any indication, the Berlin II Conference on Libya is unlikely to bring about any tangible change or lasting stability. On the other hand, despite not taking part in the 2020 summit, Morocco has managed to play a much more pivotal role in the attempts to achieve peace and stability in war-torn Libya.
In the joint conference with Saleh on June 24, Bourita stressed the fact that “Morocco’s role did not begin with Berlin and will not end with Berlin,” adding that “Morocco does not change its position based on an invitation or an absence.”
Such a stance is of course made easier when Rabat itself was integral to organizing the Bouznika-Libya talks in the Moroccan coastal town. In January 2021, Bouznika was once again the host to various competing Libyan delegations, leading a new round of negotiations.
Within this context, the Libyan participants stressed the importance of “Libyan ownership of the political process.”
As long as Western countries carry on with their interventionist agenda in Libya and the United Nations Security Council fails to hold the parties defying arms embargoes accountable, Western-led conferences and discussions will continue to carry little weight.
Meanwhile, Morocco will continue to be an integral venue for dialogue between Libyan factions and a place to look for practical solutions.
As Bourita said during his meeting with Saleh, “There is no Berlin solution to a North African problem.”
