Egypt’s President to Discuss Morocco-Algeria Tensions During Algerian Leader’s Visit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and his guest Abdelmadjid Tebboune should discuss on Tuesday the state of Algerian-Egyptian bilateral relations and several regional and continental issues, including the preparation of the next Arab League summit. The dispute between Algeria and Morocco will also be on the agenda of the discussions between the two heads of state, reports the Egyptian media Nashat Al-Daihi. The Moroccan-Algerian crisis persists to the dismay of the two peoples.

Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco on August 24 last. In September, it had opposed any Arab mediation to find a solution to the tensions with the kingdom. "The issue of the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco is not and will not be on the agenda of the ministerial meeting, and the decision to break off diplomatic relations will not be the subject of discussion or deliberation. It is a sovereign, definitive and irreversible decision," Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra had said on the sidelines of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers and during consultative meetings prior to this meeting.

Last October, Mauritania expressed its willingness to play the role of mediator between Morocco and Algeria, if the two parties so wish. "We are willing, if they (Morocco and Algeria, ed.) were to ask us, to play a facilitating role," Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani said in an interview with the French newspaper L’Opinion.