Morocco cuts all contacts with German Embassy
Morocco has cut all contacts with the German Embassy in the capital, Rabat, in protest at Berlin’s stance on the disputed Western Sahara region.
Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita cited “deep disagreements” with Germany over the European country’s December 2020 criticism of the then-US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Trump made the decision in return for the African country’s normalization of ties with the Israeli regime.
“Morocco wishes to preserve its relationship with Germany but this is a form of warning expressing unease over many issues,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told AFP late on Monday.
“There will be no contact until we have received answers to the various questions we have posed,” said the official.
Media reports said Rabat was also reacting to not receiving an invitation to an international meeting about Libya that was held in Germany in January 2020. Berlin invited heads of state from counties involved in the Libyan conflict and representatives of the European Union (EU), the African Union, and the Arab League to that summit. Morocco was not invited.
Rabat said at the time that it was surprised at not having received an invitation to the conference, saying that it played an essential role in the international efforts to end the conflict in Libya.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara — a former Spanish colony — in 1975, and has since been in conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front. The movement has been fighting for independence of the local Sahrawi people in Western Sahara and a referendum on their self-determination.
The pro-independence front represents the Sahrawi population and has fought Morocco over the territory for years. It has vowed to fight on until Moroccan forces withdraw from Western Sahara.
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