Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Burita, affirmed on Monday during his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba’s visit to Rabat that his country is committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and to “take note with interest” of peace. Proposal of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a joint statement following their meeting, Burita stressed that Morocco has “excellent relations” with both Ukraine and Russia, while warning that there are currently too many peace initiatives, which “may be more of a problem than a solution”. ”
This is the first visit by a Ukrainian minister to Morocco since the two countries established diplomatic relations 31 years ago, and takes place in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a matter in which Rabat maintains a difficult balance of neutrality.
Burita and Kouleba, who began their tour of various African countries in Morocco, announced that the two countries would deepen their political and economic ties and signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic matters.
The Moroccan minister highlighted “historic ties” with Ukraine, he said, “on great friendship and fruitful cooperation”, and affirmed that they would strengthen them in the economic field, in the fight against organized crime or in food security.
Burita explained that “Morocco does not support war” and condemned the use of force to resolve disputes, while affirming respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries and “the resolutions of the General Assembly concerning the war in Ukraine”. Did.
The North African country, which has been trying to maintain good relations with both sides in the conflict, initially abstained from some key votes at the United Nations condemning the Russian invasion, but later showed disapproval of Russia in others. , the last one February, when he voted in favor of Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
Burita affirmed that this Monday’s visit “opens horizons and prospects” in bilateral relations and announced that he would fill the position of ambassador in Kiev, where Rabat currently does not have a head of its diplomatic legation.
For his part, Minister Kuliba invited Burita to visit Kiev and “make amends” by his predecessors who did not take advantage of Morocco’s potential, he said, “as a gateway to Africa.”
And he thanked Morocco for voting in the UN General Assembly for “very important resolutions in support of Ukraine”.
Kouliba also referred to the conflict over the territory of Western Sahara, which was disputed between Morocco and the Saharawi Polisario Front and 80% controlled by Rabat.
“For us, territorial integrity is a sacred concept, that’s why one of the points we are talking about is solving the problem of the Sahara,” he said, adding that his country is the UN representative for Western Sahara. Supports the efforts of the envoy, Staffan de Mistura, “to reach a mutually acceptable political solution in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter”.
And he referred to an autonomy proposal for the former Spanish colony submitted by Morocco to the United Nations in 2007, which he described as “a serious and credible basis for resolving the dispute”.
The Ukrainian minister said the two leaders agreed on Monday to facilitate visas and trade between their countries and guaranteed their support for Rabat as a “guarantor of food security” assisting Moroccan farmers.
The visit followed the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Arab League summit and in the framework of preparations for the visit to Kiev of an African mission promoted by Pretoria to the so-called “Global South”.
Ukraine hopes to get a higher participation of African leaders and other “non-aligned” countries in the “peace summit” proposed by Kiev, which could be held in Denmark in July and wants the country to be part of the Ten Points or support all. The Peace Formula is said to present Ukraine as a road map for the end of the war.
