Morocco recalls Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire
Morocco-Cote D'Ivoire, Politics, 2/18/2005

The Moroccan Government has decided to recall its Ambassador to Abidjan following denial by Cote d'Ivoire that it had asked Moroccan King Mohammed VI to exert "mediation efforts" in the crisis in the West African country.

A CommuniquŽ issued Thursday evening by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation said Morocco was "astonished" at the reaction of the Ivorian presidency denying that the delegation received, Wednesday in Casablanca, by King Mohammed VI, had asked the latter to exert mediation efforts to help resolve the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire.

The ministry noted that it was at the request of Ivorian authorities who asked "with insistence" that an audience was granted by the monarch to the delegation which, accompanied by the Ambassador of Cote d'Ivoire, called on "HM the king to get personally involved" in the settlement of the crisis.

Therefore, Morocco has decided to recall its ambassador to Abidjan while waiting for "appropriate explanations" from the Ivorian authorities, the communiquŽ" concluded.

The delegation was led by President Laurent Gbagbo's envoy Sangare Abou Drahamane, first deputy chairman of the popular front party (in power).

A press release of the Moroccan foreign ministry issued at the end of the audience said "HM the king reiterated at the meeting the particular attention Morocco grants to stability and peace in C™te d'Ivoire, the unity of its people and reconciliation between different parties."

Last November, the Moroccan monarch deplored the situation in C™te d'Ivoire, calling the "Ivorian people and their representatives to make dialogue prevail, and to restore unity and social harmony."

Morocco dispatched last May a contingent of some 700 soldiers to contribute to efforts by the international community to stop the bloodshed in the war-torn west African country.

Despite a French-brokered peace deal agreed in 2003, fighting has broken out sporadically in Cote d'Ivoire.

Previous Stories:
  Gbagbo seeks Moroccan King's mediation to resolve crisis in Cote d'Ivoire   (2/17/2005)
  Cote d'Ivoire president in Morocco   (7/20/2004)
  Ivorian premier deplores weak trade with Morocco   (4/7/2004)

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