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Pro-regime Algerian media continue to obsess over Morocco’s domestic affairs, particularly the kingdom’s deepening sovereignty over its southern provinces in the western region.
In the latest sign of their displeasure with Morocco’s gains on the Sahara issue, some of these media outlets have voiced their frustration over reports that Spain has handed over control of Saharan airspace to Morocco.
EchoroukOnline, a media outlet known for its hostility towards Morocco’s territorial integrity, disapprovingly recalled recent reports that the Spanish government has transferred the management of Western Sahara’s airspace to Morocco.
The Spanish news outlet El Independiente was the first to report this game-changing development last month, suggesting that Morocco expanded its control over the airspace to approximately 20%.
However, EchoroukOnline claimed Morocco took the decision “unilaterally.” And its report, as usual light on details or evidence when it comes to Morocco, cited “reliable sources” as claiming that between 15% and 20% of the airspace is effectively managed by Morocco.
True to its habit of often conveying Algeria’s regime’s anti-Morocco rhetoric, the website went even as far as to accuse the Spanish government of “covering up rumors of negotiations with Morocco” to hand over the management of airspace in Western Sahara.
Spain’s government raised “suspicions among parliamentarians and the Spanish media about the possibility of a secret deal between Rabat and Madrid that would reshuffle the cards in the region,” it claimed.
“Jose Manuel Albares, Sanchez’s foreign affairs minister, refuses to provide updated information on the ongoing talks to transfer Western Sahara’s airspace to Morocco,” Echourouk Online further wrote, partially quoting El Independiente.
The Algerian website’s claims stand in stark contrast to converging resorts, which maintain that high-level talks are underway between Madrid and Rabat to reach a lasting agreement on the matter of airspace control.
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Indeed, several sources in the Spanish media in recent weeks have spoken of secret meetings between Moroccan and Spanish officials over the past year on the management of the sensitive Saharan airspace.
Other reports have also suggested that the two countries have established a technical commission to tackle the specifics of technical cooperation and security.
This comes as the Spanish government continues to face pressure at home, with a number of MPs having repeatedly challenged the government over its perceived appeasement of Morocco on the Sahara issue.
As a result, many analysts expect a possible new diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain.
This suspicion grew in the aftermath of a recent video of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who appeared to addressing the government on the recent devastating storm that affected Valencia and other regions
Despite Spain’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, the video showed a world map that displayed a divided map of Morocco without its southern provinces.
The episode promptly raised questions and concerns about a potential crisis between the two countries, which in recent months have repeatedly pledged to deepen their relations at all levels.
