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Morocco's King Invites Israeli PM for Official Visit

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
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Morocco's King Invites Israeli PM for Official Visit

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)

Morocco's king invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an official visit, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday, two days after Israel recognized the kingdom's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

In a personal letter, which was confirmed by Morocco's national news agency, MAP, King Mohammed VI thanked Israel for its position and said Netanyahu's visit "would open new opportunities for strengthening bilateral relations".

Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita agreed on Wednesday to set a date "in the near future" for what would be Netanyahu's first visit to the kingdom, the prime minister's statement said, Reuters reported.

Morocco considers Western Sahara its own territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants an independent state there.

Earlier on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson told reporters that the US recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara remains unchanged.

Twenty-eight other countries - mostly African and Arab - have opened consulates in the Western Saharan cities of Dakhla or Laayoune, in what Morocco sees as tangible support for its Western Saharan rule.

According to MAP, the king also welcomed Israel's decision to mull opening a consulate in Western Sahara in his letter.

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Kremlin Says It Still Supports Syria’s Assad and Will See What Help Is Needed

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
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Kremlin Says It Still Supports Syria’s Assad and Will See What Help Is Needed

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to opposition groups and would see what help was needed to stabilize the situation.

A statement from the Syrian Prime Minister's office on Monday said that Russian and Syrian aircraft were striking opposition-held positions in Aleppo's eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of fighters.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened militarily on his side against anti-government factions in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order as soon as possible and regarded the opposition attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Asked on Monday whether Russia planned to increase its support for Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

"We continue to support Bashar Al-Assad. Contacts are continuing at the appropriate levels.

"We are analyzing the situation and a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation."

Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, and replaced him with Colonel General Alexander Chaiko.

There was no official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry of such a change.

Assad has vowed to crush the opposition fighters - a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The opposition seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the boldest assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

They also swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy.