Why don’t the Americans, the French and the Saudis appease Morocco and Algeria?
Giuseppe Gagliano's point on Morocco and Algeria
Why do Paris and Washington, important and influential partners of both states, refuse to intervene in the conflicts between Morocco and Algeria? Why are the Saudis, who played a decisive role through King Fahd in the normalization of relations between Algeria and Morocco in the mid-1980s, now stand at bay?
Washington has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and continues to consider Morocco's autonomy plan serious, credible and realistic. The same goes for Paris, which views the plan as a serious basis for discussion. The support of the two powers for the Moroccan option does not allow them to take action to change the Algerian position.
Washington regards Algeria as an important security partner in the region. For this reason, President Joe Biden may choose not to be involved in the resolution of the conflict, especially in an attempt at mediation. In short, Algeria, a fundamental country in the region, is a strategic and military ally of Russia, Washington has no interest in pushing the Algerians even further into the arms of the Russians. …
Same understandable caution on the part of France, which has had its own dispute with Algiers for seventy years. Reviving relations with Algeria is a traditional leitmotiv of every new tenant of the Elysée. A project that most often collides with the memorial wall. After an enthusiastic start, Emmanuel Macron was also able to measure the complexity of the task. In this context, it is unlikely that the French president would set foot on the minefield of the Sahrawi question. Furthermore, that France suffers from a legitimacy problem: in addition to colonial liabilities, its role in the intervention in Libya in 2011 and its mixed involvement in Mali have diminished its influence on the continent and its credibility as an arbiter.
China remains vague so as not to offend either the kingdom or Algeria.
As for Russia, while it officially denies tensions with Morocco, it abstained from the UN in the October 29 vote on resolution 2602, considered in favor of Rabat. He called for "direct negotiations" between Morocco and Polisario on 15 December.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Morocco and the Polisario to make more efforts, expressed concern about the risks of escalation in this part of Africa and warned against the status quo that could lead "terrorists to exploit this difficult situation.
On the Maghreb chessboard, Morocco and Algeria are considered two poles of stability, in a region notoriously unstable since the Libyan collapse. The kingdom has very close relations with Washington. The recognition by the Americans of Morocco's "full sovereignty" over the Sahara and the normalization of ties with Israel are the culmination of these relations, but also of Rabat's diplomatic and political victory over its Algerian rival.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/marocco-algeria-contrasti/ on Fri, 31 Dec 2021 06:33:34 +0000.