Algeria cut relations with Morocco over what it said “hostile actions” by Rabat
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania
Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed held talks late Monday with his Algerian and Moroccan counterparts on bilateral relations and regional issues, the Mauritanian news agency reported.
This came in two separate talks Cheikh Ahmed made with Algeria’s Ramtane Lamamra and Nasser Bourita of Morocco.
The contacts came after Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco over what it said “hostile actions” by Morocco. Rabat described the Algerian move as “unjustified” and based on “false pretexts.”
Last week, Cheikh Ahmed said the Arab Maghreb Union has been paralyzed due to the crisis between Algeria and Morocco.
The Arab Maghreb Union is a regional body established in 1989 and comprises Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia and Libya.
Relations between Algeria and Morocco have strained for decades against the backdrop of the disputed Sahara region between Rabat and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara
