Israel, Morocco to Upgrade Ties and Open Embassies, Israeli FM Says

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
TT

Israel, Morocco to Upgrade Ties and Open Embassies, Israeli FM Says

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)

Israel and Morocco plan to upgrade their restored diplomatic relations and open embassies within several months, Israel's foreign minister said during a visit to the North African kingdom on Thursday.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries - along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan - to move towards normalizing relations with Israel last year under US-engineered accords.

Those agreements also saw Washington recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

"We are going to upgrade from liaison offices to embassies," Yair Lapid told a news conference.

In similar comments to Israeli reporters accompanying him on a two-day trip that began on Wednesday, Lapid was quoted as saying that he had agreed with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita that the embassies would open in two months' time.

There was no immediate confirmation of Lapid's remarks by Morocco.

Lapid's visit was the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Morocco since 2003, after the two countries agreed in December to resume diplomatic relations under a US-brokered deal.

Earlier on Thursday, Lapid inaugurated Israel's liaison office in Rabat and visited a synagogue in Casablanca.



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)
TT

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.