Moroccan-Spanish Talks on Demarcation of Maritime Border

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya and Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita (MAP)
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya and Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita (MAP)
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Moroccan-Spanish Talks on Demarcation of Maritime Border

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya and Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita (MAP)
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya and Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita (MAP)

Morocco exerted its sovereign right when it decided to demarcate its maritime borders, which is guaranteed by international law, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has announced.

"Morocco delineated its frontiers... as Spain did before it. This could lead to some overlaps and that is why we seek dialogue," he said Friday.

At a joint press conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, her first visit outside the EU since her appointment as Spain’s diplomacy chief in mid-January, Bourita said that the law permits dialogue on issues relating to maritime borders.

Morocco rejects unilateral solutions and therefore dialogue is key, stated the Moroccan FM, adding that the two countries will work according to the Convention of the Law of the Sea.

Bourita assured the Spanish official “there will be no politics of faits accompli or unilateral decisions” and that dialogue will prevail to reach common solutions that satisfy all parties.

“We are ready to engage in dialogue with Spain in the framework of our essential rights and sovereignty,” asserted the Moroccan FM.

Morocco has exercised its right by initiating a legal process intended to delineate its maritime borders, said the Spanish minister.

She also stressed that Morocco has reiterated its commitment not to impose any unilateral measures, noting that the two countries will work in this direction.

“Morocco has the right to delineate a territorial maritime zone... (but it must) respect the rules and norms of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea... and international law,” Spain's top diplomat said.

Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine El-Othmani also met with the visiting Spanish FM and praised the solid friendship and the dynamics of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Othmani and Gonzalez renewed their determination to coordinate at various levels to enhance bilateral development, and social and political relations.

The meeting was attended by the Moroccan Ambassador to Spain and the Spanish Ambassador to Rabat.

A Moroccan-Spanish high level meeting is expected to be held within the coming months to enhance the strategic cooperation between the two countries and establish new economic partnerships, especially after the agreements signed during the visit of the Spanish King to Morocco last year.

Othmani and Gonzalez also discussed on Friday ways to promote multilateral cooperation, as well as the prospects for partnership to enhance tripartite cooperation to benefit other African countries.



Israel Poised to Approve Ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli Official Says

 A photo shows destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
A photo shows destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Israel Poised to Approve Ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli Official Says

 A photo shows destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
A photo shows destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Israel looks set to approve a US plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said, clearing the way for an end to the war which has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza conflict 14 months ago.

Israel's security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to discuss and likely approve the text at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official said.

This would pave the way for a ceasefire declaration by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, four senior Lebanese sources told Reuters on Monday.

In Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday, "We're close" but "nothing is done until everything is done". The French presidency said discussions on a ceasefire had made significant progress.

The agreement has already won approval in Beirut, where Lebanon's deputy parliament speaker official told Reuters on Monday there were no serious obstacles left to start implementing it - unless Netanyahu changed his mind.

Netanyahu's office declined on Monday to comment on reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the text of a deal.

Hezbollah, seen as a terrorist group by Washington, has endorsed its ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate.

The plan requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanese army troops to deploy in the border region - a Hezbollah stronghold - within 60 days, Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon's deputy parliament speaker, and a second Israeli official told Reuters.

Signs of a breakthrough have been accompanied by military escalation, with Israeli airstrikes demolishing more of Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs on Monday.

The destruction across wide areas of Lebanon brings into focus a huge reconstruction bill awaiting cash-strapped Lebanon, with more than 1 million people displaced.

In Israel, a ceasefire will pave the way for 60,000 people to return to homes in the north, which they evacuated as Hezbollah began firing rockets in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas a day after that group's Oct. 7, 2023 assault.

PAINFUL BLOWS

Israel has dealt Hezbollah massive blows since going on the offensive against the group in September, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders, and pounding areas of Lebanon where the group holds sway. The group has kept up rocket fire into Israel, firing some 250 rockets on Sunday.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Monday that Israel would maintain an ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement. Lebanon has previously objected to Israel being granted such a right, and Lebanese officials have said such language is not included in the draft proposal.

Israel would be able to strike against "imminent threats" only, the second Israeli official said.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday gaps between the two parties have narrowed significantly but there are still steps they need to take to reach an agreement.

"Oftentimes the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult because the hardest issues are left to the end," he said. "We are pushing as hard as we can."

In Beirut, Bou Saab told Reuters on Monday there were "no serious obstacles" left to start implementing a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel, "unless Netanyahu changes his mind".

Over the past year, more than 3,750 people have been killed and over one million have been forced from their homes, according to Lebanon's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.

Biden's administration, which leaves office in January, has emphasized diplomacy to end the Lebanon conflict, even as all negotiations to halt the parallel war in Gaza are frozen.

Diplomacy over Lebanon has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

It requires Hezbollah to pull its fighters back around 30 km (20 miles) from the Israeli border, behind the Litani River, and the regular Lebanese army to enter the frontier region.

Israel has long complained that 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons at the border. Lebanon has also complained that Israel has violated the agreement, noting regular violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli warplanes.