France Renews ‘Unwavering Position’ on Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI meet in October 2024. (MAP
French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI meet in October 2024. (MAP
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France Renews ‘Unwavering Position’ on Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI meet in October 2024. (MAP
French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI meet in October 2024. (MAP

France on Tuesday underscored its “unwavering” position on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, in a statement released by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs following a meeting between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita.

The statement reiterates the position expressed by President Emmanuel Macron to King Mohammed VI in his letter dated July 30, 2024, according to Morocco’s news agency, MAP.

Macron’s letter emphasizes that “for France, the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” while recalling the “unwavering nature of France’s position” and its commitment to “act consistently with this position at both the national and international levels.”

According to the French Ministry statement, Barrot stressed France’s “clear and consistent support for the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty.”

He described it as “the only framework within which this issue should be resolved”, underlining that it is “the sole basis” for reaching a political solution.

Noting the “growing international consensus” in support of Morocco’s autonomy initiative, Barrot also stated that France intends to fully contribute to this momentum.

Moreover, France reaffirmed its commitment “to support Morocco’s significant efforts in promoting economic and social development” in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, highlighting the various measures taken in this regard and expressing its willingness to continue this dynamic.

The statement came hours after Bourita met with Barrot in Rabat. The officials vowed to bolster their cooperation and to deepen the “exceptional partnership” between their countries launched during Macron’s visit to Morocco in October.



US Envoy Reaffirms Backing for Damascus, Rules Out ‘Plan B’

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrives for a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 07 July 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrives for a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 07 July 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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US Envoy Reaffirms Backing for Damascus, Rules Out ‘Plan B’

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrives for a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 07 July 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrives for a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 07 July 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

The United States will keep backing Syria’s government and has no “Plan B” to working with it to unite the war‑scarred country back together, still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence, US envoy Tom Barrack said on Monday.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Barrack – Washington’s ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria, who is also on a short assignment in Lebanon – called last week’s Israeli strikes inside Syria “badly timed” and said they had “complicated efforts to stabilize the region.”

Barrack spoke in Beirut after more than a week of clashes in Sweida province between Druze militiamen and Sunni Bedouin tribes.

Over the weekend he brokered what he described as a limited ceasefire between Syria and Israel, aimed only at halting the fighting in Sweida. Syrian government troops have since redeployed in the area and evacuated civilians from both communities on Monday, he said.

Barrack told the AP that “the killing, the revenge, the massacres on both sides” are “intolerable,” but that “the current government of Syria, in my opinion, has conducted themselves as best they can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together.”

Regarding Israel’s strikes on Syria, Barrack said: “The United States was not asked, nor did they participate in that decision, nor was it the United States’ responsibility in matters that Israel feels is for its own self-defense.”

However, he said Israel’s intervention “creates another very confusing chapter” and “came at a very bad time.”

Prior to the violence in Sweida, Israel and Syria had been in talks over security matters, while the Trump administration had been pushing them to move toward full normalization of diplomatic relations.

When the latest fighting erupted, “Israel’s view was that south of Damascus was this questionable zone, so that whatever happened militarily in that zone needed to be agreed upon and discussed with them,” Barrack said. “The new government (in Syria) coming in was not exactly of that belief.”

The ceasefire announced Saturday between Syria and Israel is a limited agreement addressing only the conflict in Sweida, he said. It does not address broader issues including Israel’s contention that the area south of Damascus should be a demilitarized zone.

In the discussions leading up to the ceasefire, Barrack said “both sides did the best they can” to reach agreement on specific questions related to the movement of Syrian forces and equipment from Damascus to Sweida.

He suggested that Israel would prefer to see Syria fragmented and divided rather than a strong central state in control of the country.

Later Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X that Israel’s strikes “were the only way to stop the massacre of the Druze in Syria, the brothers of our brothers the Israeli Druze”.

Katz added: “Anyone who criticizes the attacks is unaware of the facts,” he continued. It was not clear if he was responding to Barrack’s comments.

Damascus has been negotiating with the Kurdish forces that control much of northeast Syria to implement an agreement that would merge the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with the new national army.