Moroccan and Russian diplomats deny a “silent crisis” between Rabat and Moscow

Moroccan and Russian diplomats denied a “silent crisis” between Rabat and Moscow.

This came according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, carried by the official Moroccan Agency on Thursday, following talks that brought together the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East and African Countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and Moroccan Ambassador to Moscow Lotfi Bouchaara.

This meeting comes a day after Mikhail Bogdanov received a delegation from the Polisario Front in the Russian capital, Moscow, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry issued on Wednesday, in addition to the Moroccan local media circulating news of a “silent crisis” between the two countries, during the past few days.

Bogdanov and the Moroccan ambassador to Moscow, according to the statement, expressed their “deep astonishment at the baseless information published by some media about the alleged coldness in relations between Moscow and Rabat”.

They stressed that “the multifaceted and mutually beneficial Russian-Moroccan cooperation is developing in a dynamic manner, and the active role played by the Russian ambassador to Morocco, Valerian Chauviv, in this joint work is highlighted”.

The statement indicated that “during this meeting, current issues of interest in developing traditionally friendly Russian-Moroccan relations were discussed, including organizing, as soon as possible in Moscow, the eighth meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation”.

He added, “The two sides discussed preparations for the sixth ministerial session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Marrakesh, including coordinating dates to hold it before the end of the current year, taking into account the constraints associated with the (Covid-19) epidemic”.

The statement also indicated that, during the exchange of views on the regional agenda, the two sides discussed the issue of the Sahara and the situation in the Maghreb.

The Russian side reiterated its “steadfast position in support of a negotiated solution to crises and conflicts on the basis of respect for basic principles and standards of international law, as well as relevant Security Council resolutions”.

Earlier, the newspaper’s Moroccan website (independent) said that “diplomatic relations between Morocco and Russia have entered the phase of a silent crisis, whose signs are gradually emerging, and reached the point of leaving the Moscow ambassador to Rabat without giving reasons, days after the latter’s decision to stop its direct flights to Russian territory”.

According to the website, “the issue took on other dimensions after Moscow submitted an official request to the League of Arab States requesting to postpone the sixth session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum, which was scheduled in Rabat on October 28, to the end of the year”.