Morocco Demands Clear Explanation from Spain over Polisario Leader’s Entry, Straining Bilateral Relations

In an interview published on Monday by the daily El Mundo, Aziz Akhannouch stressed that Spain has a duty to officially and clearly explain itself on the basis of convincing and objective arguments in order to reassure and restore trust between the two countries. According to the president of the RNI, the justifications provided so far by Spain can be deduced as "an attempt to conceal a serious mistake that harms the relations between the two countries."

And if Spain considers that its approach is purely humanitarian and innocent, why was Morocco not informed from the start?, asked the president of the Moroccan party, noting that "the fact of concealing this reception can lead to a complicity that Madrid has so far avoided clarifying."

Strengthened in his position by Spain’s silence, Mr. Akhannouch took care to point out that the Kingdom of Morocco is respectful of the relations of cooperation and deserves reciprocal treatment from its Spanish partner. "A healthy relationship between two countries must meet two fundamental conditions: transparency and clarity," Aziz Akhannouch reiterated, emphasizing the need for Spain to remedy this act adopted under a humanitarian pretext and to apply the law against Brahim Ghali, who is the subject of many complaints filed against him.

As for the future of relations between Morocco and Spain, he noted that it is essentially linked to the outcome of the current situation, which is already eroding trust between the two countries and could also have unfortunate repercussions in several areas of cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

Morocco remains a solid partner of Spain in terms of economic exchanges and cooperation on security and immigration issues, recalled the president of the RNI. He assures that "trust is the basis of partnership and cooperation, and when this trust is lost, there can be a setback in the achievements made over decades between the two countries."