Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for “discretion” to mend the diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain.
On July 29, Sanchez addressed a press conference at Moncloa Palace to review the preceding year in politics, according to the Spanish news outlet El Diario.
Responding to a question on the progress of mending the Spanish-Moroccan diplomatic rift that began in April of this year, Spain’s president answered by saying “simple, discretion.” Sanchez quickly followed up saying that “to reaffirm what I have said on many occasions that Morocco is, evidently, a strategic partner for our country.”
The newly appointed Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares has taken a similar cautious approach to the crisis, requesting “diplomacy be left to work quietly,” to allow for “results and not strident headlines.”
Albares has previously expressed his willingness to work to resolve the crisis between the two countries, stressing that among his top priorities is the necessity to “strengthen relations, especially with Morocco.”
Morocco and Spain, away from the public eye, are engaging in “intense negotiations” to fix the dispute, reported the Spanish outlet El Pais.The outlet noted that diplomatic contact has recently been reestablished between the two countries. Before direct contact was renewed, all discussions were held through intermediaries such as the EU’s High Commissioner Josep Borrell, according to El Pais.
The diplomatic crisis has multiple origins, among them the revelations of Spain’s decision to allow Polisario leader Brahim Ghali to enter the Iberian peninsula for hospitalization without as much as a consultation with Rabat. Ghali entered Spain under a fake name and falsified documents, Morocco’s intelligence discovered.
In turn, Rabat recalled the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, who is still in the North African country. The ambassador’s return remains pending on the resolution of the crisis.
