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Rabat – Syria is formalizing a new chapter in its diplomatic relationship with Morocco, extending traditional ties between the two countries.
i24News reported, citing a Syrian source familiar with the matter, that Morocco has been officially notified of Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s desire to visit the North African country.
“Morocco has not yet responded to this request for a presidential visit,” the news outlet said.
The same source added that Syria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has sent a technical delegation to Morocco to inspect the Syrian embassy in Rabat.
Ties between Syria and Morocco experienced a momentum, especially after King Mohammed VI’s instruction to reopen Morocco’s embassy in Damascus, which had been closed since 2012.
Morocco closed its embassy 13 years ago due to disagreements with the Assad regime.
King Mohammed VI stressed that the reopening of the embassy in Syria will “open broader perspectives in the historical relations between our two countries and our two people.”
Last month, Damascus authorities made a significant move aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties between Damascus and Rabat.
The Syrian government officially closed premises occupied by Polisario separatists in the Syrian capital.
The move dealt a heavy blow to both the Polisario and Algeria.
Algeria’s regime has long backed the Polisario Front’s agenda in Morocco and beyond. In addition to its support for Polisario’s independence claims in Western Sahara, Algiers has facilitated the separatists’ activities in Syria, further entangling itself in the country’s internal affairs.
New reports have revealed additional evidence of the Polisario’s incursions and interference beyond Morocco’s borders, including operations in Syria.
A “highly confidential” document that surfaced in December last year shows a secret alliance between the former Syrian regime under Bashar Al Assad’s collapsed government and the separatist group.
The confidential document, which dates back to January 2012, was a correspondence from the Syrian government. It showed that the Polisario sent militias to undergo military training with the Syrian Arab army.
The document also shows a series of communications between Algeria’s Ministry of Defense, Syria’s Ministry of Defense, and Polisario’s leadership, with fighters divided into four groups.
It detailed that Polisario’s members traveled to Beirut in December 2011 for consultations with Hezbollah to coordinate military training missions in “special operations” in Syria.
An international appeal is now demanding the labeling of Polisario as a terrorist group. Many politicians from many countries have been urging their governments to take the initiative amid Polisario’s threats and maneuvers undermining the stability of the region.
Earlier this year, US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson announced that he would introduce legislation to that effect.
“I will introduce legislation to designate the Polisario as terrorists,” Wilson said. He was joined by several other politicians, like Liam Fox, former Secretary of State for Defense in the UK, who also made the same appeal earlier this year, saying: “Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Polisario Front is an Iranian proxy organisation. For the sake of our Moroccan allies, Western governments must move quickly to designate this group as a terrorist organisation.”
Throughout recent years, several research institutions and think tanks have made similar appeals, shattering Polisario’s self-portrayal as a liberation movement and unmasking its terrorist acts as an armed group that is involved in terrorist attacks, arms smuggling, among others.
