Spain’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Morocco’s chargé d’affaires attended a meeting on Aug. 21 in place of Ambassador Karima Benyaich, who had been summoned over remarks by two Moroccan ministers concerning Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish media reported.
The ministry said Benyaich was not in Spain at the time, so the chargé d’affaires, who normally oversees the embassy in the ambassador’s absence, attended the meeting on her behalf.
According to El País, Spanish officials decided not to postpone the meeting because of the urgency of the matter and the need to convey Madrid’s protest without delay. Benyaich was also informed of the complaint electronically, the newspaper reported.
The diplomatic move followed remarks by Moroccan Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq and Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi concerning Ceuta and Melilla.
During an August Mawlid ceremony attended by King Mohammed VI, Toufiq referred to scholars associated with Ceuta, including Qadi Ayyad and Al Azzafi, as well as a work by Al Jazouli. He described the book as a reference for Moroccans during their efforts to liberate cities on Morocco’s Atlantic coast from European occupation.
Ouahbi, meanwhile, reiterated Morocco’s position on what he described as its historical and geographical sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.
The justice minister has previously said Morocco’s sovereignty over the two cities remains an issue on the table and that Rabat continues to raise the matter in meetings with Spanish officials.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Thursday that Madrid had categorically rejected the positions expressed by the two Moroccan ministers.
Speaking before Spain’s Congress, Sánchez said his government had summoned Morocco’s ambassador in Madrid on Aug. 21 to convey its position, describing the remarks concerning Ceuta and Melilla as unacceptable to Spain.
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