Morocco has suspended contact with the German embassy and German cultural organisations, prompting tit-for-tat moves.
Amid a diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Germany, widely understood to be down to differences over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Spain, which ruled the desert region as a colony until 1975, has said it would seek a UN-negotiated solution.
Morocco suspended contact with the German embassy and German cultural organisations in the North African country last Monday, prompting tit-for-tat moves from Germany.
Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said Madrid would rely on the UN to broker an agreement between both sides.
“Spain maintains a firm and constant position which is supporting the search for a solution that must be political, fair, durable and mutually acceptable as established by the resolutions of the UN Security Council,” she said in a statement.
“It is not for Spain to promote a concrete solution but to support the efforts of the UN to reach a mutually acceptable solution for the parties.”
Rabat announced its moves last week citing “deep misunderstandings” on “issues fundamental for Morocco”.
Some analysts believe the measures are an attempt by the North African state to make a stand over its claim to the sovereignty of disputed Western Sahara.
Also last week, the European Court of Justice – as previously scheduled – heard submissions over the Morocco-European Union trade agreement which are disputed by the Polisario Front, which fights for the independence of Western Sahara.
In Rabat, anger is brewing over Germany’s criticism of former US President Donald Trump’s decision in January this year to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Trump broke with decades of US diplomatic tradition to recognise the Moroccan claim to the disputed territory in return for Rabat normalising relations with Israel.At that time, Morocco was already feeling snubbed by Germany, which had failed to invite Moroccan officials to a congress in Berlin in January 2020 to discuss Libya’s future.
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