España convoca a la embajadora de Marruecos en Madrid
The Spanish government has decided to summon the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, following the Moroccan prime minister's statements during an interview in which he compared Ceuta and Melilla to Western Sahara and therefore placed them under Moroccan sovereignty. Karima Benyaich, who has been head of the embassy for scarcely two years, is the daughter of a Spaniard, and I have already had to deal with other crises between the socialist executive and the Alaouite kingdom.
The Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Cristina Gallach, has told the Moroccan ambassador that "Spain considers it essential that its partners respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity", according to the press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Saad Eddine El Othmani, the Moroccan Prime Minister, said during an interview with an Egyptian channel that 'after five or six centuries it was necessary to discuss the situation in Ceuta and Melilla', territories which, according to him, are Moroccan. During the interview he also indicated that the priority now is 'to consolidate recognition of the sovereignty of Western Sahara', but that sooner or later it will be necessary to discuss the two autonomous cities with the Spanish government.
Relations between Morocco and Spain are not at their best. Just a few days ago, following US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, Rabat and Madrid agreed to postpone the High Level Meeting between the two countries until February 2020. According to both countries, the reasons for this postponement were due exclusively to the situation arising from the COVID-19. However, the fact that the postponement coincides with the US announcement acknowledging Morocco's position on the Sahara suggests that there is a certain need to let the situation rest and assess the different reactions.
For the RAN scheduled for a week ago, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI had stated that he would not receive the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, owing also to the security measures for the coronavirus. However, the fact that Pedro Sánchez broke with the tradition of choosing Morocco as his first international destination after being elected president has not gone down well with our neighbouring country, and relations between Madrid and Rabat have become somewhat more strained than usual.