Thursday, December 23, 2021
After months of ice age
Morocco sends a relaxation signal to Berlin
In time for Christmas, the tense diplomatic relations between Germany and Morocco are pacified: The change of government and friendly words from the Foreign Ministry are apparently calming Rabat’s anger on Berlin. The stumbling block has not been removed, however.
Germany has welcomed the signs of détente from Morocco in the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The diplomatic missions in Rabat and Berlin should return to their “usual, professional communication channels” as soon as possible, according to the Foreign Office in Berlin. The task now is to move German-Moroccan relations forward through dialogue.
In May, Morocco called its ambassador in Berlin back for consultations out of anger about German foreign policy. The background was, among other things, the dispute over the Western Sahara, which Morocco claims for itself. Germany has repeatedly acted hostile to the higher interests of Morocco, it said. The Foreign Office announced at the time that the allegations were incomprehensible.
On Wednesday, Morocco’s foreign ministry then declared that “positive statements” by the new federal government were likely to allow the resumption of bilateral relations and a return to normal diplomatic missions. It was apparently referring to an article recently published on the Federal Foreign Office’s website. This honors Morocco, among other things, as “an important link between north and south”.
Western Sahara: Dispute over claims to autonomy
The territorial claim of Morocco to the Western Sahara, which is south of the national border, is not recognized internationally. However, US President Donald Trump, who was elected at the time but was still in office, confirmed Morocco’s sovereignty over the sparsely populated region in December. Germany criticized this decision and called a meeting of the UN Security Council to do so.
The area on the Atlantic coast in northwest Africa was a Spanish colony until 1975 when it was largely occupied and annexed by Morocco. The Polisario Front resistance movement, which fought against the occupation, proclaimed the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic with the support of Algeria and Libya. Morocco only wants to grant Western Sahara limited autonomy, while the Polisario Front is calling for an independence referendum. Tensions in the region had increased in recent months.