The Diplomat
King Mohammed VI of Morocco yesterday expressed his intention to inaugurate a “new unprecedented stage” in his relations with Spain, built on the basis of “trust, transparency, mutual respect and honouring of commitments”.
In an address to the nation on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People, the Moroccan king said he hoped to continue “working” with the Spanish government after the “unprecedented crisis” in relations between the two countries, according to the official Moroccan news agency MAP.
Mohamed VI spoke for the first time about the crisis that began last April due to the hospitalisation in Spain of the Polisario Front leader, Brahim Gali, and the subsequent massive influx of emigrants into the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta in May, in the face of Moroccan passivity.
The Moroccan King acknowledged that it has been ‘an unprecedented crisis that has shaken mutual trust and raised several questions about its future’.
But in recent weeks, and following the dismissal of former Spanish foreign minister Arancha González Laya, Morocco has shown signs of rapprochement, such as accepting the return of hundreds of minors who entered Ceuta in May.
Yesterday, Mohammed VI affirmed that his country has worked with “the utmost calm, total clarity and spirit of responsibility” to reach an understanding with Spain, talks that he himself, he said, has been part of.
