Hespress has learned from a diplomatic source that Morocco “does not seek escalation or provocation” against Algeria, stressing that the procedures for annexing buildings belonging to the Algerian embassy in Rabat “are still in place.”
The source emphasized that Morocco has been working to “maintain a friendly relationship between the two countries and the brotherhood between the two peoples,” considering that the Algerian Foreign Ministry’s talk of “confiscating its diplomatic representations in Morocco” are “baseless allegations.”
The diplomatic source explained that the buildings of the Algerian Chancellery in Rabat have been seized by Algeria.
The diplomatic source explained that the buildings of the chancellery and the residence of the Algerian embassy in Rabat “are not affected by any measure,” adding that contrary to what the Algerian authorities claim, “the chancellery and the residence of the former Algerian ambassador in Rabat, whose land was offered free of charge by the Moroccan authorities, have not been confiscated.”
Morocco “respects and protects these bases, even in the absence of privileges and immunities following Algeria’s unilateral breach of diplomatic relations,” the same source stressed, noting that Morocco has only discussed with Algerian authorities one building, which is essentially unused.
The expansion of the Moroccan Foreign Ministry in recent years has included “several diplomatic buildings, especially those belonging to Côte d’Ivoire and Switzerland,” he said, adding: “For more than two years, the Algerian authorities have been aware of these measures in full transparency.”
According to the Hespress source, the ministry informed, as early as January 2022, “officially and on several occasions, the Algerian authorities of the desire of the Moroccan state to buy the said building amicably,” confirming that “the Consul General of Algeria in Casablanca was received at the ministry no less than 4 times in this regard,” and “8 official correspondences were transmitted to the Algerian authorities, who responded with no less than 5 official correspondences.”
Moreover, the same source recorded that the Algerian authorities, in “two of their communications, responded to the Moroccan offer by indicating that a state-owned evaluation of these properties is underway and that they will communicate their conclusions once it is finalized,” before adding that “the release of the building and the removal of its contents will be done in accordance with diplomatic customs once the sale is finalized.”
In another letter, the Algerian authorities also informed in writing that they “have decided to initiate a procedure to expropriate certain properties in the vicinity of the People’s Palace for public utilities, thus restoring the ownership of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco.”
Contrary to the rough estimates in the Algerian Foreign Ministry’s statement, the source emphasized that Morocco is “fully discharging its responsibilities and obligations under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
He went on to state: “Even if diplomatic relations are severed by a unilateral decision taken by Algeria on August 24, 2021, Morocco assumes its responsibilities and complies with its obligations arising from customs and diplomatic rules,” concluding that the property of the Algerian state, which “no longer hosts diplomatic consular premises and no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities provided for in international law, remains respected and protected under Moroccan law, according to the general conditions applicable to property law.”
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