Morocco Suspends Diplomatic Ties with Germany over ’Deep Misunderstandings’

Since this Monday, March 1st, many have been wondering about the reasons behind this sudden decision. Morocco had to react to "disrespectful acts towards the Kingdom and its institutions." It all started with the exclusion of Morocco from the Berlin conference on Libya in January 2020, causing "deep discontent" in Rabat. "The Kingdom of Morocco has always been at the forefront of international efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis," a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stressed.

According to the ministry, Rabat "played a decisive role in the conclusion of the Skhirat agreements, which are to this day the only political framework supported by the Security Council and accepted by all Libyan protagonists, with a view to resolving the crisis in this brotherly Maghreb country." Morocco said it was surprised by this exclusion, and questioned "the criteria and motivations by which the choice of participating countries in this meeting was made."

Given this rather unfortunate and diplomatically incorrect precedent, the Minister of Foreign Affairs declined an invitation from his German counterpart, and the United Nations, to participate in the Berlin 2 conference on the Libyan crisis, which follows the one in January. The last straw was put by Germany following the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. Berlin had officially requested a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the Sahara issue.

In addition to these rather conflictual events, some mention "suspicious activities of German associations in Morocco," others talk about "the case of the Salafist Mohamed Hajib, who insults the Moroccan institutions at will, and whose extradition Rabat is demanding." There was also the case of the separatist "flag" waved in Bremen for the 45th anniversary of the creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). A series of incidents that have finally exhausted Morocco’s patience, which has taken the necessary decisions.

In the meantime, Morocco has decided to freeze all contact, "both with the German embassy in Morocco and with the German cooperation agencies and political foundations associated with it."