Pekka Hyvönen, the Finnish ambassador to Morocco, posted a tweet on Morocco in which he openly criticized Rabat’s position on the war in Ukraine and its absence during the vote on a UN resolution . Perceived as an interference in the sovereign choices of Moroccan diplomacy, this tweet sparked heated controversy. The Finnish diplomat had to withdraw it and apologize to the Moroccan people.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is also President of the Council of the EU, expressed on Thursday the fear of an unprecedented food crisis in North Africa and other regions of the world.
To date, no Moroccan has joined the resistance alongside Ukraine to fight Russia . More than 20,000 foreign volunteers are engaged in this cause.
Moroccan airlines are among the 29 authorized to operate flights to Russia starting Thursday, March 17, during this period of war in Ukraine. Despite the avalanche of economic sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s country, including the closure of several airspaces, six airlines continue to operate international flights.
Informed of the difficulties related to money transfers to Moroccan students in Russia, following the country’s exclusion from the SWIFT financial platform , the government has decided to react.
The Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has decided to suspend all flights to and from Russia. Insurance problems are behind this suspension.
Like many countries with trade relations with Russia and Ukraine, Morocco is seriously disrupted by the crisis between the two countries, with the surge in prices of cereals and hydrocarbons.
In order to avoid shortages and rising wheat prices , Russia has decided to apply export restrictions to four former Soviet republics. Should Morocco fear for its supply?
A Spanish journalist believes that Morocco is politically closer to Russia than to the EU and Spain. This is evidenced by his absence from the UN General Assembly that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine .
In order to reduce its dependence on imports following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Brazil has requested assistance from Morocco to ensure its supply of fertilizers.
A possible persistence of the increase in the price of a barrel of oil - an increase caused by the Russia-Ukraine war - could push Royal Air Maroc (RAM) to raise the price of its tickets. This is at least what Ilham Kazzini, director of the commercial division of the company, claims.
One of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s superyachts, currently in financial difficulty due to economic sanctions (asset freezes) against Russia and Russian oligarchs, is off the west coast of Morocco. These sanctions also concern the seizure of their private ships and jets.