Spain, Morocco seek reset of testy relationship at Rabat summit

Morocco Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch receives Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at Rabat-Sale Airport in Rabat, on Feb. 1, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 02 February 2023
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Spain, Morocco seek reset of testy relationship at Rabat summit

  • Sanchez was speaking at a summit in Rabat where the two countries signed as many as 20 agreements to boost trade and investment
  • There have been regular diplomatic crises over Spain's enclaves in Africa

RABAT: Spain and Morocco have agreed to set aside their differences, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday, as they seek to repair a relationship marked by frequent disputes over migration and territory.
Sanchez was speaking at a summit in Rabat where the two countries signed as many as 20 agreements to boost trade and investment, including credit lines of up to 800 million euros ($873 million).
“We have agreed on a commitment to mutual respect, whereby in our discourse and in our political practice we will avoid everything that we know offends the other party, especially regarding our respective spheres of sovereignty,” Sanchez said.
There have been regular diplomatic crises over Spain’s enclaves in Africa, Morocco’s dispute with rebels over the Western Sahara, and the arrival of thousands of illegal migrants in Spain each year through Morocco.
Morocco refuses to recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, but last year the two countries agreed to open the first customs control points between the two.
Madrid says that reflects Rabat’s recognition of the enclaves as foreign territory, but Morocco has not confirmed the development and has given no public statement indicating that its long-held stance that the enclaves should be part of its territory has changed.
Sanchez restored cordial relations with Rabat in March 2022 after he reversed former colonial master Spain’s four-decade policy on the Western Sahara by backing Morocco’s proposal to create an autonomous region.
Forging peace between the neighbors has forced Sanchez’s Socialists into some uncomfortable positions.
Last month, its MEPs voted against a resolution in the European Parliament to call on Morocco to improve its record on press freedom. MEP Juan Fernando Lopez said this week that maintaining cordial neighborly relations sometimes involved “swallowing a toad.”
Spain’s about-turn on Western Sahara drew the ire of Algeria, a Polisario Front ally, which suspended trade with Spain and warned it could cut the flow of natural gas even as it forges closer gas ties with Italy.
In Rabat on Thursday, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch expressed satisfaction at Spain’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan as the “most credible solution” to resolve the Western Sahara dispute, but did not reference an agreement to set aside all sovereignty disputes.


Pro-Kurdish MPs to meet Erdogan after Ocalan talks

Updated 3 sec ago
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Pro-Kurdish MPs to meet Erdogan after Ocalan talks

  • DEM, Turkiye’s third biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan

ISTANBUL: Lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party were to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday for talks described by jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan as having a “historic nature.”
DEM, Turkiye’s third biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and Ocalan, whose militant group the PKK in May ended its decades-long armed struggle and disband.
On Sunday, the delegation traveled to Imrali island where Ocalan has been serving a life sentence in solitary confinement since 1999. They said they had had “a very productive two-and-a-half hour meeting” with the 76-year-old former militant.
“He said he attached great importance our delegation’s meeting with the president which was of a historic nature,” the delegation said in a statement.
“Similarly, he said the commission to be established in the Turkish (parliament) will also play a major role in directing the peace and the solution.”
With the process “entering a new phase” it was very important everyone played their role, he told them.
“His hope, confidence and belief in the contribution of this process to the democratization of Turkiye as a whole is extremely strong,” they said.
The three-strong delegation that went to Imrali included lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar and lawyer Ozgur Faik Erol, DEM said.
The delegation would meet with DEM’s leadership on Monday morning then Buldan and Sancar would head to the presidential palace for talks with Erdogan at 1200 GMT, it said.
The meeting came as the PKK was to hold a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to start destroying a first tranche of weapons — which will likely take place on or around 10-12 July.
Erdogan said the move would give momentum to peace efforts with the Kurds.
The disarmament process is expected to unfold over the coming months.


Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

Updated 33 min ago
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Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

  • The 11-nation grouping said the strikes “constituted a violation of international law”

RIO DE JANEIRO: Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, with the bloc condemning recent Israel and US air strikes that hit military, nuclear and other targets.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025,” leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel.

“We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said.

The 11-nation grouping said the strikes “constitute a violation of international law.”

The declaration is a diplomatic victory for Tehran, which has received limited regional or global support after a 12-day bombing campaign by the Israeli military, which culminated in US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

The BRICS gathering includes Israel’s arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia and China, which have ties with Tehran.

BRICS diplomats had been in disagreement over how strongly to denounce Israel’s bombing of Iran and its actions in Gaza, but ultimately strengthened their language at Tehran’s request.


Jordan dispatches 2 Black Hawk helicopters to assist Syria in containing wildfires

Updated 06 July 2025
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Jordan dispatches 2 Black Hawk helicopters to assist Syria in containing wildfires

  • More than 7,000 hectares of land in coastal parts of Syria burned over the weekend
  • Jordanian helicopters with firefighting crews were dispatched to contain the blazes on Sunday

LONDON: The Jordanian armed forces have expanded efforts to assist Syria in combating wildfires in Latakia’s Jabal Turkman mountainous region, deploying two Black Hawk helicopters to aid Damascus in handling the disaster on Sunday.

The wildfires spread over more than 7,000 hectares of land in coastal parts of the Syrian Arab Republic for the fourth day, sparked by a combination of unexploded ordnance from the country’s civil war as well as high temperatures and drought.

They have swiftly spread through forests and farmland, threatening homes and prompting an emergency response in Syria, and the help of Turkiye and Jordan.

Two Jordanian helicopters with firefighting crews and equipment were dispatched to aid Syria in containing the wildfire in Latakia’s countryside on Sunday. The decision demonstrates Jordan’s commitment to providing humanitarian support and responding to regional crises, the Petra news agency said.

The armed forces said that the deployment reflects Jordan’s commitment to solidarity and regional cooperation during environmental and humanitarian emergencies, Petra added.


Syria fights ‘catastrophic’ fires for fourth day

A volunteer runs through smoke from a wildfire, in Latakia countryside, Syria, July 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Updated 06 July 2025
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Syria fights ‘catastrophic’ fires for fourth day

  • Syrian emergency workers have faced tough conditions including high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain in the coastal province

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said some 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest had “turned to ash” in wildfires as firefighters from neighboring Jordan arrived Sunday to battle a fourth day of blazes in the province of Latakia.
Syrian emergency workers have faced tough conditions including high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain in the coastal province and the danger of explosive war remnants, in a country worn down by years of conflict and economic crisis.
An AFP correspondent in Latakia’s Rabiaa region saw emergency workers battling a blaze near homes, while vast swathes of forest and olive groves were burnt and smoke filled the air over a long distance.
Jordanian civil defense teams crossed into Syria on Sunday morning, the Syrian ministry for emergencies and disaster management said, after Turkiye sent assistance a day earlier.
Minister Raed Al-Saleh said on X that “hundreds of thousands of forest trees over an estimated area of around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) in 28 locations have turned to ash.”
He later decried “a real environmental disaster” at a press conference in the province.
More than 80 teams including civil defense personnel have been helping battle the blaze, he said, noting local organizations and residents were also providing assistance, in addition to teams and firefighting aircraft from neighboring Jordan and Turkiye.
Saleh said it would take days to declare the blazes completely extinguished once the fire was brought under control, calling them “catastrophic.”
Syria’s defense ministry said the air force was assisting, publishing images of a helicopter collecting and dropping water.
Jordan’s public security directorate said in a statement that the “specialized firefighting teams from the civil defense... have been provided with all the modern equipment and machinery necessary to carry out their duties to the fullest extent.”
Swathes of forested area and farmland have burnt and some villages evacuated as the fires raged including near the Turkish border.
The United Nations deputy envoy to Syria Najat Rochdi said in a statement Sunday on X that Damascus “needs more international assistance” to face the fires.
A statement from the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula said that “UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs.”
Nearly seven months after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, Syria is still reeling from more than a decade of civil war that ravaged the country’s economy, infrastructure and public services.
With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.
In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP that Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”


UK foreign secretary discusses ties with Kuwaiti crown prince, prime minister

Updated 06 July 2025
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UK foreign secretary discusses ties with Kuwaiti crown prince, prime minister

  • David Lammy, Kuwaiti officials discussed ways to enhance relations between London and Kuwait
  • Both countries’ respective ambassadors attended meetings, alongside other officials

LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met separately with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during his visit to Kuwait.

Lammy and the Kuwaiti officials discussed on Sunday ways to enhance relations between London and Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Ambassador to the UK Bader Al-Munaikh, UK Ambassador to Kuwait Belinda Lewis, Kuwait’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Europe Sadeq Marafi, and Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya attended the meetings.

Lammy visited the Middle East over the weekend, landing first in Syria and meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani. The foreign secretary is the first British official to visit Damascus in 14 years.