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Rabat – The spokesman for the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Commission spoke at a press conference about the crisis between Morocco and Algeria on Thursday, August 26.
The European Union urged Algeria and Morocco to find a “diplomatic and lasting” solution to the current situation between the two countries, following Algeria’s unilateral decision to cut diplomatic ties with its North African neighbor.
According to Spanish news outlet Europa Press, the European Commission’s spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Peter Stano expresses the EU’s wish “for a diplomatic and lasting solution that will resolve the current situation and that will be achieved quickly and to the benefit of both countries, their people and the whole Mediterranean region.”
“The EU is ready to help, support and assist its partners if requested to do so in order to reach a solution to any dispute,” said the spokesman in a press conference.
In addition to the mediation offer, Stano adds that the EU “is ready to assist both countries in all their efforts to find a diplomatic and lasting solution,” according to the same source.
The EU’s offer is however unlikely to be seen as a possible solution to the diplomatic crisis as the current tensions appear to be the intended goal by Algeria’s government Unable to provide solutions for its internal crises, the country’s elite appears to be using Morocco as a diversion in order to get Algerians to “rally around the flag.”
Algiers announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco on Tuesday, August 24, citing a number of factors in its decision. This move appears to be highly symbolic however, as consular services will continue unabated.
In his diatribe against Morocco, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra resorted to a victimization imbued accusatory rhetoric, starting with what he described as “historic Moroccan attacks” since his country’s independence, to citing an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that accused Morocco for the recent wildfires that ravaged Northern Algeria.
The decision comes after Algeria recalled its ambassador for consultations in July, after Morocco’s representative to the UN Omar Hillale indirectly endorsed the self-determination of the Kabyle people in Algeria.
Additionally, Algeria has expressed dissatisfaction when Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, questioned Algeria’s role in the region during an official visit to Morocco.
The Algerian government also accused Morocco of allegedly supporting organizations listed as terrorist groups by the Algerian government, and invoked allegations of espionage using the Pegasus software.
Meanwhile, Morocco responded to the announcement by calling the decision “unjustified” but also “expected in view of the escalation observed in recent weeks.”
Rabat, moreover, “categorically” rejected the “fallacious, even absurd, pretexts underlying Algiers’ decision.”
After rejecting Morocco’s calls for working together to build a stronger Maghreb, the Algerian government’s unfounded claims and subsequent decision to sever ties with Morocco, further entrenched its regional isolation, rendering its voice inaudible in the region, Africa and the international scene.
