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Rabat – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has sent a letter congratulating the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of Russia Day, the country’s national holiday.
In the letter, King Mohammed VI extended his sincere congratulations and best wishes to Putin as his country celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation, Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP) reported earlier today.
The Moroccan king highlighted the distinguished, friendly relations between the Moroccan and Russian nations, arguing in his letter that the Morocco-Russia relationship is based on the bonds of solid friendship and mutual esteem.
King Mohammed VI further reiterated his determination to continue to work together with President Putin to strengthen Morocco’s partnership relations with the Russian Federation.
The letter also noted that the Moroccan King hopes to consolidate the bilateral consultation and coordination approach the two countries have long taken in addressing various international and regional issues of common interest, serving their common interests, and contributing to the consolidation of international security and stability.
Read also: Survey: Despite Ukraine War, 37% of Moroccans Want To Keep Ties With Russia
Morocco and Russia share centuries of diplomatic relations, with many historians tracing back Russo-Moroccan relations could be traced back to 1777, when Moroccan Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdellah al-Khatib (Mohammed III) and Russian Empress Catherine the Great opened a diplomatic channel through a series of letters.
Over the past decade, the two countries have actively sought to expand and broaden the range of their bilateral cooperation.
Morocco’s monarch paid a personal visit to the Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2014, and the Russian leader in turn visited Rabat in September of 2006.
In 2017, Russia offered to sell Morocco its latest S-400 missile defense system after signing 11 agreements with Morocco the year before.
Despite being a strong US and NATO ally, Morocco has notably adopted a “principled neutrality” stance on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Some critics and observers have interpreted the Moroccan position as an endorsement of Putin’s anti-West rhetoric in the worldwide, increasingly prevailing confrontation between democracy and authoritarianism.
In Rabat, meanwhile, both government officials and independent observers appear to have taken the view that while Rabat remains committed to its relationship with the US-led Western bloc, it would be strategically unsound and diplomatically suicidal to cut ties with Russia.
