Moroccan Foreign Minister Slams Algeria’s Fixation on Western Sahara Dispute

"In recent weeks, the official news agency APS has devoted 7 dispatches per day to the Sahara issue. In other words, more than it should devote to Algerian-Algerian internal issues," he stressed during a press conference on Sunday in Rabat, following the virtual summit of the African Union (AU).

Morocco has noted more than 50 official statements in Algeria on the Moroccan Sahara, including those of government and presidency spokespersons, press releases from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Army, political parties, Parliament and sermons in mosques, Mr. Bourita specified.

According to the Moroccan Foreign Minister, the Sahara issue has become an "obsession" for Algeria, which makes it "a true national cause". This position of Algiers surprises many observers of the Maghreb political scene. "In Algeria, never has a conflict been exploited in the same way, including the Palestinian cause," he stressed.

The minister also noted that this all-out media "mobilization" against the territorial integrity of the kingdom has revealed and confirmed to the international community that Algeria is indeed a "stakeholder" directly involved in the Sahara conflict and not just an "observer" and "neutral" country. Deploring this daily onslaught of the eastern neighbors against Morocco, he called on Algerian decision-makers to "assume their full responsibility".