MadridAugust 29, 2022 (SPS) Recent statements by the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on Western Sahara have aroused the ire of Morocco, which has gone as far as to cancel a meeting scheduled for next September with the head of European diplomacy, local and European media report.
The Spanish news agency EFE, quoting diplomatic sources, indicated that the Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs gave no reason for the cancellation of this meeting, except that the visit of the High Representative to Rabat in this moment was “inappropriate”. Observers believe, however, that this cancellation would find an explanation in Borrell’s recent statements on Western Sahara.
This new exit once once more confirms the state of diplomatic isolation of the Makhzen regime, especially following Morocco’s absence from the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-8) held on Saturday and Sunday in Tunis. , due to the reception of Saharawi President Brahim Ghali by his Tunisian counterpart, Kaïs Saïed.
The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs had emphasized during an interview granted last Tuesday to a Spanish channel, the need to “consult” the Saharawi people in the settlement of the conflict, statements which seem to have upset Morocco, according to El Español.
Commenting on Madrid’s reversal regarding the conflict in Western Sahara, Borrell affirmed that the “position of the Spanish government was and is that of the EU, that is to say, to defend the holding of a consultation to allow the Saharawi people to decide its future. (SPS)
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