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Morocco, Israel to Exchange Visits in Feb.

Morocco's FM Nasser Bourita speaks upon the arrival of the US Presidential advisor and Israeli National Security Advisor at the Royal Palace in Rabat on December 22, 2020. (Getty Images)
Morocco's FM Nasser Bourita speaks upon the arrival of the US Presidential advisor and Israeli National Security Advisor at the Royal Palace in Rabat on December 22, 2020. (Getty Images)
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Morocco, Israel to Exchange Visits in Feb.

Morocco's FM Nasser Bourita speaks upon the arrival of the US Presidential advisor and Israeli National Security Advisor at the Royal Palace in Rabat on December 22, 2020. (Getty Images)
Morocco's FM Nasser Bourita speaks upon the arrival of the US Presidential advisor and Israeli National Security Advisor at the Royal Palace in Rabat on December 22, 2020. (Getty Images)

Israel’s National Security Council chairman Meir Ben-Shabbat and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita agreed during telephone talks on Friday to send delegations to their respective countries in February.

Israel and Morocco announced the creation of “working groups” to bolster bilateral cooperation, following an agreement to restore diplomatic ties.

Such intergovernmental groups will work in cooperation in various fields, including investment, agriculture, water, environment, tourism, science, innovation and energy.

The groups will meet virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"A Moroccan high-level delegation will visit Israel as soon as possible, probably in February, to finalize the terms of these agreements," the Moroccan News Agency (MAP) said, adding that "an Israeli delegation, led by Ben-Shabbat, is also expected in Morocco in February."

Bourita and Ben-Shabbat also "discussed the huge potential of cooperation that will benefit not only Morocco and Israel, but also the entire region."

Bourita and Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi were supposed to hold talks via video conference on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation, but they were postponed.

Meanwhile, Israel's new ambassador to Morocco Ambassador David Govrin arrived in Rabat on Tuesday to take up his post. A source from the Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Morocco will soon appoint a head to its liaison office in Tel Aviv, with Abderrahim Bayoud a candidate for the position.

He will travel to Israel in the coming few weeks.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
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Turkish Foreign Minister Says No Room for Kurdish Militants in Syria's Future

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R), also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, shaking hands during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE

Türkiye’s foreign minister said after meeting Syria's de facto leader in Damascus on Sunday that there was no room for Kurdish militants in Syria's future, calling for the YPG militia to disband.
Türkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
Sunday's visit to Damascus by Hakan Fidan, the first foreign minister to visit Damascus since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow two weeks ago, came amid hostilities in northeast Syria between Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and the YPG, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast.
Speaking alongside Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Fidan said he had discussed the YPG presence with the new Syrian administration and believed Damascus would take steps to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"In the coming period, the YPG must come to a point where it is no longer a threat to Syria's national unity," Fidan said, adding the YPG should disband.
The SDF played a key role defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards ISIS fighters in prison camps. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the group would try to re-establish capabilities in this period.
Fidan said the international community was "turning a blind eye" to the "illegality" of the SDF and YPG's actions in Syria, but added that he believed US President-elect Donald Trump would take a different approach.
He said the new Syrian administration had told him during their talks that they could manage the ISIS prison camps, if needed.
In a Reuters interview on Thursday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped battle ISIS and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Türkiye. He denied any organizational ties with the PKK.
The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.
Earlier, Türkiye's defense minister said Ankara believed Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all of the territory they occupy in the northeast.
Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halt support for the Kurdish fighters.
Ankara had for years backed opposition groups looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.
Fidan said all international sanctions imposed against Assad must be lifted as soon as possible to help Syria start rebuilding, offering Ankara's assistance on matters such as infrastructure development.
Sharaa told Sunday's press conference his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.