Mohamed VI stops Albares’s visit so that Sánchez is the one who travels first

The Spanish Government has had to postpone this Thursday the trip that the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, was going to make this April 1 to Rabat to meet with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Buritaso that it is the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, who is the star of the opening of a new stage in relations with Morocco, which must put end to 15 months of diplomatic conflict.

This change occurred after a telephone conversation this Thursday afternoon between Mohamed VI and Sánchez and involves modifying the plan drawn up by Spain. The government’s planning was that the minister’s visit would serve to begin to normalize communication, prepare a subsequent trip for the president and hold a High Level Meeting (RAN) between the two countries. This design was blown up so that it was Sánchez himself who directly sealed the end of the crisis with the Alaouite monarch. And it did not happen at the request of Spain but of Morocco, since it was Mohamed VI himself who called the chief executive.

From his perspective it makes sense, because Mohamed VI always demands gestures at the highest level. It is no coincidence that Rabat is the first capital visited by the Presidents of the Government after being appointed, aware of how much cooperation with the African neighbor affects the security of Spain and Europe.

Albares himself had announced his visit for April 1 during his appearance last week in the Congress of Deputies, who said he had dealt directly with Burita. It was going to address the “reinstatementin a controlled way, of the movement of people and goods”, referring to the reopening of the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, which is a priority for Spain, the “normalization of maritime connections” and the operation of Operation Crossing the Strait .

But the truth is that in recent days, despite the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was impossible to close an agenda. Not only that. Morocco forced it to be Sánchez who traveled first. A subsequent statement from the Cabinet of the Moroccan Royal House reported the telephone conversation and that the president had been invited for a visit”very soon“, probably next week, according to the Moncloa. The reality is that there was already an invitation from the Alaouite monarch to the president —on March 18— and Albares went to Rabat in part to close the visit. Shortly after, sources from the Ministry of Foreign officials specified that Mohamed VI’s proposal “also includes the presence of the minister” and that the meeting initially scheduled with Burita for this Friday will take place within the framework of that next official trip.

.@jmalbares cancels his trip to Morocco and will travel when Pedro Sánchez does https://t.co/9BxbjGpPoB pic.twitter.com/iF02xITrNc

– Europe Press TV (@europapress_tv) March 31, 2022

Everything was so hasty that the suspension of Albares’s visit forced the cancellation of a massive reception for the Spanish colony than the minister and the ambassador in Rabat, Ricardo Diez-HochleitnerThey offered Friday afternoon. However, sources from the Government and Foreign Affairs have made an effort during the last hours to play down the iron in this whole matter. “It’s a magnificent News. Albares postpones to accompany the president and his visit is accelerated”. In the ministry they also argue that, “as the visit” of the head of the Executive is advanced, that of the minister does not seem “so necessary” and the implication of the Moroccan king in the solution of the conflict.

The truth is that Mohamed VI is the vault key of the diplomatic crisis. Who has turned the recovery of the Sahara into an identity issue and who has demanded that Spain abandon its historical neutrality in the conflict and opt for the autonomy plan that Morocco proposes for this territory. On a letter sent to Mohamed VI on March 14, the President of the Government defined this proposal as the “most serious, credible and realistic” to find a solution. This was the condition that he had imposed to accept a normalization of relations with the Spanish Executive after almost a year and a half of disagreements, initiated, precisely, because Spain did not endorse at that time the turn of Donald Trump and his explicit recognition of Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara.

Despite the change of script to stage the reconciliation, at least the conversation between Sánchez and Mohamed VI has a positive note. The Moroccan king assures in his release “high appreciation for the content” of the president’s message on March 14 and adds that the letter “is in line” with the spirit of the speech he delivered in August, when he called for “opening an unprecedented stage in the relations between the two countries”.

Thus, he continues, this “association” between Spain and Morocco “is already part of this new stage based on mutual respectreciprocal trust, permanent consultation and frank and loyal cooperation”. “The different ministers are called to launch concrete actions within the framework of an ambitious roadmap that covers all areas, including issues of common interest” .

Moroccan sources maintain that Mohamed VI the page has turned to the crisis and that assumes that the new relationship “has already begun.” In short, a previous trip by the minister is not necessary. The same sources assure that “they will receive Sánchez with open arms”. In any case, the president’s visit to Rabat, which could take place next week, will be the definitive test of whether the crisis is over. Everything indicates that yes, but definitive confirmation is necessary.

It is a good sign that the trip takes place in full Ramadanthe month of fasting for the Arab people, because the fact that the Alaouite monarch receives it at this time is a gesture of trust towards the president.