Amidst diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Germany, widely understood as a result of differences over the disputed lands of Western Sahara, Spain, which ruled the desert area as a colony until 1975, stated that he would seek a solution negotiated with the UN.
Morocco suspended talks with the German embassy and German cultural organizations in the North African country last Monday, prompting tit-for-tat movements from Germany.
Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said Madrid would rely on the DAs to reach an agreement between the two sides.
“Spain maintains a stable and stable position that supports the pursuit of a solution that must be political, fair, sustainable and appropriate as established by the resolutions of the UN Security Council,” he said. i in a statement.
“It is not Spain’s job to promote a concrete solution but to support the efforts of the UN to reach a solution that is appropriate for the parties.”
Rabat announced his motions last week calling for a “deep misunderstanding” of “fundamental issues for Morocco”.
Some analysts see the measures as an attempt by the North African state to stand up for its claim to the sovereignty of the accused Western Sahara.
Also last week, the European Court of Justice – as previously recorded – heard claims of a disputed Morocco-EU trade agreement with the Polisario Front, which is fighting for Western Sahara independence. .
In Rabat, anger is brewing over German criticism of former US President Donald Trump’s decision in January this year to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Trump broke with decades of U.S. diplomatic heritage to recognize a Moroccan claim to the disputed region as a reward for Rabat normalizing relations with Israel.
At the time, Morocco already felt that Germany had driven him mad, not inviting Moroccan officials to a conference in Berlin in January 2020 to discuss Libya’s future.
“This series with Germany is an attempt by Morocco to put pressure on the European Union, and in particular Spain as a former colonial power, to accept their claim over Western Sahara,” Ignacio Cembrero , a Madrid-based journalist and author who has written extensively about Morocco, told Al Jazeera.
“However, it seems that the EU will not do this for now – publicly at least.”
Crisis to come?
Rabat has had a good relationship mainly with Berlin, which is the seventh largest trading partner for the North African state and provided Morocco with 1.3 billion euros in loans and grants in 2020.
But the ECJ decision may trigger a new crisis in relations between Rabat and Europe, analysts said, if the ruling judges side with Polisario.
The Polisario Front points out that Moroccan exports from the desert region are going to lose its natural resources, which include phosphates, agricultural products and fish caught in waters far Western Sahara.
Gilles Devers, a lawyer representing the Western Sahara independence movement, told AFP news agency that the Polisario was at war against “Moroccan settlement”.
Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita said the state news agency MAP Rabat would reiterate what he described as “legal harassment” and defend the kingdom’s engagement with Europe.
Cembrero believes the ECJ judgment, which is not expected until later this year, could go ahead for Polisario’s face.
“If the ruling against Polisario is reversed, Morocco can respond. It is not clear how at this time. Trade with Europe is very important to Morocco and they may retaliate if the court rules against them, ”he said.
Isaias Barreñada, a Madrid-based expert on Western Sahara, believes that Morocco has chosen to start a diplomatic dispute with Germany because the European country is a member of the UN Security Council.
“Europe will not reverse its support for seeking a UN solution. But Germany is on the UN Security Council. Perhaps this is why Morocco chose to make the point with Berlin. Maybe he’s trying to say he’s not pushed around, “Barreñada, who teaches international relations at Complutense University in Madrid, told Al Jazeera.
Economic importance
Where it is not a remote desert, the West Coast is of important economic importance for Morocco.
In 2019, Rabat exported $ 524m worth of fish, tomatoes, and melons from Western Sahara to Europe, according to European Commission figures.
In 2018, the ECJ agreed that the EU-Moroccan fisheries agreement did not apply to Western Sahara since Saharawi people were not allowed to fish in a referendum.
To circumvent the ECJ ruling, the European Parliament sent an information-seeking mission to consult with Saharawi groups but analysts said some observers agreed that these groups were agreed with Morocco.
But the EU later said this met the ECJ’s demands that the Saharawis be consulted.
The Polisario Front has said this will allow brushes to take advantage of Western Saharan resources without the EU officially recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the land.
Morocco has maintained that its claim for sovereignty over Western Sahara has not been compromised.
As soon as Spain took control of the colony in 1975, Rabat waged a war against the Polisario Front that lasted until 1991.
A truce was expected in 1991 with a referendum on devolution in the area but this did not materialize.
The UN has tried to hold talks on the future of the region and although both sides have said they will come to the conciliation table, no solution has been reached. The latest discussions ended in 2019.
Military tensions erupted in November when Morocco sent troops into a buffer zone to reopen the same route between Morocco to Mauritania and the rest of West Africa.
International support for Morocco’s side in the conflict seems to be growing, with several African and Arab states recognizing Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
However, some African states and Eastern Europe still recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which was called by the leaders of Polisario in 1976.
“The most important thing for Rabat is to give trade rights to Western Sahara and he will not back down on maintaining his claim,” Barreñada said.