Algeria Expresses Disappointment as Morocco’s King Skips Arab League Summit

"Given what was announced, we thought that King Mohammed VI would personally attend this summit, but this morning we learned that this would not be the case. [...] Time will allow each to judge whether there was a missed opportunity for the Arab world," the Algerian Foreign Minister said on the Saudi channel Al Hadath.

"In any case, we respect the decision of all our brothers," added Ramtane Lamamra. He also said that a meeting between King Mohammed VI and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was scheduled, "as for any head of state making the trip."

These statements by the head of diplomacy come after the remarks of his Moroccan counterpart who justified the cancellation of the visit to Algiers for three major reasons. In a statement to the Saudi channel Al Arabiya, Nasser Bourita mentioned "regional considerations" and two controversies around the publication by the Algerian channel AL24 News of a truncated map of Morocco and also the abusive expulsion of Moroccan journalists.