The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs talks about diplomatic normality with the Alaouite Kingdom

La embajadora de Marruecos rebaja la tensión y asegura a España que no varía la postura sobre Ceuta y Melilla

photo_camera PHOTO/ATALAYAR - Karima Benyaich, Moroccan Ambassador to Spain

Spain and Morocco decided to ease tension following the controversy sparked by the Moroccan prime minister, Saad Eddine El Othmani, when he spoke of Morocco's claim to sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla in an interview granted to a Saudi Arabian channel. After the commotion, the Spanish and North African nations returned to diplomatic tranquillity after clarifying the situation. 

Karima Benyaich, Morocco's ambassador to Spain, assured Spain that there had been no change in her country’s position on Ceuta and Melilla, while a certain historical claim to them has been made by Morocco, and Spain maintains that both are entirely Spanish. El Othmani's announcement came at a key moment following the total recognition by Donald Trump, President of the United States, of the absolute belonging of Western Sahara to Morocco, and the Moroccan prime minister's intervention was seen as an attempt to move towards achieving greater political influence over Ceuta and Melilla at an international level.

But no changes have been made, as Karima Benyaich explained to the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Cristina Gallach, in a conversation between the two, during which the Moroccan diplomat gave explanations. Neither Spain nor Morocco has any interest in changing the current situation which, despite this historical dispute over who owns Ceuta and Melilla, has enabled both governments to maintain a good neighbourly relationship, making them priority partners. 

During the conversation, Gallach told the representative of the kingdom of Morocco that "Spain expects all its partners to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country". This led Spain to express clearly the Spanish nature of these two cities despite the Moroccan claim that is taken for granted, but no more than that, and therefore asked for explanations in view of El Othmani's declarations. The Moroccan ambassador's response, according to the foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, reassured the Spanish government, since Benyaich has made it clear that "the Moroccan position has not changed at all in this situation", as reported by the newspaper La Vanguardia.  

González Laya made it clear that calling on the Moroccan ambassador is standard practice in diplomacy when seeking clarification and that Ambassador Benyaich has dispelled these doubts. 

La ministra de Asuntos Exteriores de España Arancha González Laya

The Spanish government thus categorically rejected any aspirations Morocco may have had regarding the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, such as that expressed by the Moroccan prime minister. In this connection, the first deputy prime minister, Carmen Calvo, referred to the position of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet after hearing El Othmani's statements: "There is no issue. Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish. There is no topic. The Moroccan government is very familiar with it. This is not disputed by the Spanish government," said Calvo at the press conference following the usual weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers. The Vice-President simply expressed this outright rejection of Moroccan aspirations.

The controversy triggered other reactions, such as those of the Ceuta government, which considered the Moroccan prime minister's words to be totally unfounded. In a statement, the Ceuta government, chaired by Juan Jesús Vivas, said that these statements "deserve the most absolute rejection". "Ceuta and Melilla are Spain at its core; they are so on the basis of unquestionable historical, legal and political arguments and they are so because that is what the Ceuta and Melilla people want," he said. He also showed his support for the central government in "whatever actions it takes to defend, with due firmness", the sovereignty and territorial integrity.  

Meanwhile, following the statements of the Moroccan Prime Minister, the leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, blamed the "internal division" of the government coalition between the PSOE and Podemos and the "international weakness" of the executive for Morocco's claim to sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.

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