Morocco’s Makhzen Is Still Clinging To Mirage Of Mediation For Return Of Algerian Gas

The media close to the Moroccan Makhzen regime picked up a phrase that came in an article published on the European Council on Foreign Relations website, talking about the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and its impact on the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, to revive the talk about the possibility of mediation between Algeria and Morocco.

The media of the Makhzen was raised in order to allegedly initiate a European mediation between Algeria and Rabat, especially in light of the data witnessed by the old continent, which is living on the impact of a gas crisis that threatens what is worse in light of the worsening crisis between Russia and Ukraine, and the goal was, of course, to restore the Maghreb-European gas pipeline through the link between Algeria and Spain via Moroccan soil, which Algeria had suspended at the beginning of last November after the expiry of the contractual term.

And it is not the first time that the media close to the Moroccan Makhzen regime has revived the discussion about the Maghreb-European gas pipeline, which means that stopping work on this pipeline has greatly harmed the gas supply of the western neighbor, despite the pretending of its officials and media propaganda, that Rabat had preempted the halt of gas supplies and braced to avert the worst.

To this day, the Makhzen system is still looking for an alternative to Algerian gas, and one of the most recent statements in this regard is the possibility of Morocco importing gas from Spain through the pipeline that stopped work on it, but in the opposite direction, which is a solution that will not be easy, given the nature on the one hand, as the Algerian-Spanish relations are witnessing remarkable stability, as well as because of the unstable relations between Rabat and Madrid.

Since Algeria’s decision to sever its diplomatic relations with the Moroccan Makhzen regime in August of last year, after Rabat normalized its diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity, Algeria has not stopped affirming that it refuses any mediation with the Makhzen regime from any party, despite the frequent talk at the time, about mediations sought by Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Algeria had realized what was expected of it in light of the military escalation between Russia and Ukraine and its impact on supplying gas to European countries these days, on the grounds that Algeria has obligations in this framework, given that it is an energy-producing and exporting country.

The responsibility, through the contact that was held between the Minister of Energy, Mohamed Arkab, and his Nigerian counterpart, last weekend, in order to advance the completion of the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline project, which links Nigeria to Europe via Niger and Algeria, a huge project that will transport at least thirty billion cubic meters of gas per year, according to the project floor.

The move that Arkab made with his Nigerien counterpart constitutes a token of confidence from Algeria to Europe and behind it the United States of America, in its keenness to fulfill its international obligations in the field of energy, especially after information circulated about Washington’s desire to compensate Algeria for a proportion of Russian gas destined for Europe notably through the delivery of a message to these parties, that the best alternative to the Maghreb-European gas pipeline, which has been suspended since the beginning of last November, is the Algerian-Nigerian gas pipeline, which can guarantee the gas needs of the old continent, in addition to the two Algerian gas pipelines that cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and Spain.