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Morocco Takes Small Steps Toward 'Normalization' with Israel

The national flags of Israel and Morocco are projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, December 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The national flags of Israel and Morocco are projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, December 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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Morocco Takes Small Steps Toward 'Normalization' with Israel

The national flags of Israel and Morocco are projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, December 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The national flags of Israel and Morocco are projected on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, December 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Morocco is taking slow steps toward normalizing ties with Israel until US President-elect Joe Biden determines his stances over a number of issues, according to diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv, especially regarding the sovereignty of Morocco over the Western Sahara.

Rabat has no intention of declaring full diplomatic ties and will limit new moves to opening liaison offices.

A delegation from Morocco will visit Israel next month to agree on reopening the offices, establishing embassies and launching direct flights between the two countries.

Last week, a Moroccan delegation visited its liaison office in Tel Aviv, which was closed in 2000.

Sources from Tel Aviv said that Biden’s team isn’t in a rush to declare a stance over the Moroccan demands, which is bothering Rabat.

In December, the US, Israel, and Morocco signed a tripartite declaration regarding normalizing ties between Rabat and Tel Aviv.

Notably, Morocco has become the fourth state to establish diplomatic ties with Israel following, UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan.

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EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
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EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she hopes a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions can be reached at a gathering of European ministers next week.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting in Brussels on Jan. 27.

European officials began rethinking their approach towards Syria after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which the United Nations designates as a terrorist group.

Some European capitals want to move quickly to suspend economic sanctions in a signal of support for the transition in Damascus. Others have sought to ensure that even if some sanctions are eased, Brussels retains leverage in its relationship with the new Syrian authorities.

“We are ready to do step-for-step approach and also to discuss what is the fallback position,” Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

“If we see that the developments are going in the wrong direction, then we are also willing to put them back,” she added.

Six EU member states called this month for the bloc to temporarily suspend sanctions on Syria in areas such as transport, energy and banking.

Current EU sanctions include a ban on Syrian oil imports and a freeze on any Syrian central bank assets in Europe.