Algeria At The Center Of A Stormy Crisis Between Morocco, Russia

The fuse ignites between the Kingdom of Morocco and Russia, to the extent that the Russian ambassador to Morocco left for his country, while Algeria is mentioned as one of the reasons behind the worsening crisis between Rabat and Moscow, the traditional and historical ally of Algeria.

The beginning was on October,5 when the Russian embassy in Morocco announced that the Royal Air Maroc decided to suspend direct flights between the two countries, knowing that the Moroccan company was guaranteeing two flights per week.

During the last weekend, media reports spoke about the departure of the Russian ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, Valerian Shuvaev, but these reports did not talk about the end of the tasks, and only referred to the news without explanations, which indicated that something abnormal was happening, out of sight between Rabat and Moscow.

Moscow also decided to postpone the date of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum at the level of foreign ministers, which was scheduled for October 28 in the Moroccan capital.

The Arab League was informed last week of the decision to postpone it to an indefinite date, under the pretext that the meeting did not match the agenda of Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.

Russia is considered the third major country with which Morocco enters into a crisis, and it is likely to complicate more, to be added to the crisis afflicting Morocco and the major European Union countries, Germany and Spain since Rabat recalled its ambassadors in these two countries.

Algeria maintains exemplary relations with both Germany and Spain, but its relations with Russia are described as excellent because Moscow is Algeria’s traditional and historical ally, which shows that the Algerian-Russian cooperation has made strides in recent years, and this is behind the crisis overshadowing relations between Rabat and Moscow.

After the crisis between Russia and Morocco became known to all, observers suggested that this crisis might have something to do with Russia’s role in the Maghreb, a fear shared by the Makhzen regime with France, which views the southern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea as a strategic area of influence.

Relations between Russia and Mali are witnessing a remarkable development, characterized by the signing of the Bamako government with a private Russian security institution (Wagner), to secure and protect senior officials of the Malian state and its institutions. This disturbed the Makhzen regime, which was concerned about the approach of Russian influence to its alleged borders. Morocco also accuses Russia of siding with the Algerian position on the Western Sahara issue.

Media reports said that the Makhzen regime was very disturbed by Algeria’s access to very advanced weapons originating from Russia, which disturbed the balance of power in the region, a development that comes at a time when Algerian-Moroccan relations entered a serious crisis that foreshadowed frightening developments.

The silent diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Moscow comes after years of stability, as King of the Makhzen, Mohammed VI, visited Russia in 2016, hoping to adjust the balance of power in Russia’s relationship between the two arch-neighbours (Algeria and Morocco), by courting Moscow by declaring Morocco’s desire to buy Russian weapons, but the train of this rapprochement stopped in the middle of the road, as Rabat failed to obtain advanced Russian weapons such as the advanced “S-400” system and to purchase quality submarines, which are the weapons Algeria obtained and made a difference in the balance of power with its western neighbour, which has become exposed after losing the support of its traditional ally, the United States of America militarily, under pressure from Spain, which is a member of NATO.

These developments would weaken Morocco’s negotiating position in the upcoming negotiations against the Polisario Front, with the Swedish diplomat, Staffan De Mistura, assuming his mission as the envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to Western Sahara.