Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Russia has slammed the Czech Republic for using Moroccan tanks without Morocco’s consent to help Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the recent transfer of Moroccan tanks to Ukraine as an “egregious case,” accusing Prague of engaging in a “hostile anti-Russian course.”
“We consider this egregious case to be yet further evidence of the hostile anti-Russian course pursued by the Czech authorities, within the framework of which Prague does not hesitate to stoop to violating fundamental provisions of international law regulating arms trade, and to seize the property of others,” Zakharova said.
The Russian official recalled that Morocco recently signed a deal with the Czech company Excalibur Army Spol to upgrade its 130 T-72B tanks.
Morocco was ‘presented with a fait accompli’
The Czech company has so far only returned 56 tanks, however, Zakharova said, noting: “The remaining 74 armored vehicles were de facto expropriated by the Czech side for further transfer to the war zone in Ukraine.”
While many recent news reports spoke of Morocco’s alleged decision to send 20 of its updated T-72B tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s war effort against Russia, Zakharova stressed instead that “Moroccans were effectively presented with a fait accompli.”
As Morocco originally purchased the tanks from Belarus in 1999-2001, the Russian official argued that Prague’s expropriation of the Moroccan tanks ultimately made Morocco“culpable before the Belarusians for failing to honor their commitment not to transfer these tanks to third countries without the supplier’s consent.”
The comments come to deny recent reports that Morocco had sent heavy weapons to Ukraine.
In a report in January, DW said Morocco had “become the first African country to send tanks to Ukraine.” According to the German news outlet, Morocco had decided to help Ukraine with its tanks “ not just because it believes in the Ukrainian cause.”
At bottom, DW suggested, the North African country also sought to have some leverage on Europe and the US when it came to persuading the West to support Moroccan interests, including on the Western Sahara question.
“The move is a significant change from Morocco’s previously neutral stance on the Russia invasion of Ukraine as well as a clear turn towards Europe and the US,” DW’s article further explained, recalling that Morocco and other African countries had abstained from voting a March 2022 UN resolution condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Morocco’s positive neutrality on Ukraine
The news of Morocco sending weapons to Ukraine unsurprisingly went viral on social media platforms, especially in Algeria, whose regime was quick to paint Morocco as the only notable country that had no qualms about breaking with the Global South’s discernible policy of positive neutrality on the Ukraine war.
In response, the Moroccan government sought to emphasize its commitment to remaining neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Morocco is not a stakeholder in this armed conflict, has not participated and will not participate in any way,” Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said in February during a press briefing with Peter Launsky, Austria’s Federal Deputy minister for European and International Affairs.
Bourita further renewed Morocco’s concerns about the impact of the armed conflict on global peace and security, as well as its repercussions on the global economy.
Prior to that, Morocco had repeatedly stressed its principled position of non-interference in other countries’ domestic affairs.
Last year, a few days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Morocco abstained from voting on a UN resolution that sought to condemn what Russia called its “special operation” in Ukraine.
In February this year, however, Morocco was among the 141 countries that voted on a UN resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Explaining the reasons behind Morocco’s UN votes, Bourita recently stressed that the country supports sovereignty and territorial integrity and opposes any attack on “the territorial integrity of member states of the UN.”
“Morocco has always been against the use of violence to resolve conflicts,” Bourita said, emphasizing that the country adopts a “constructive neighborhood policy between neighboring countries.”
