Libya to conduct good offices mission between Morocco and Algeria, khaddafi

Libyan Leader, Mouammar Khaddafi, announced that his country would conduct a good offices mission between Morocco and Algeria.

Libya would conduct a good offices mission to reconcile the Algerian and Moroccan brothers, Khaddafi told reporters in Tripoli after the second round of talks he held with King Mohammed VI and that he described as "brotherly and important."

Relations between Morocco and Algeria are strained due to Algeria's direct involvement in the Sahara issue and its material and moral backing to the polisario separatists claiming the independence of the Sahara. The Sahara, a Moroccan southern territory formerly under Spanish rule, was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords.

These strained Moroccan-Algerian relations are hampering the march of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), set up in Marrakesh in 1989 by Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

The Libyan leader said he had examined with the king "Maghreban relations, Moroccan-Algerian relations and the Sahara issue." He said talks also covered "Morocco's absence from the Organization of African Unity (OAU), all the more so as the Kingdom is an outstanding country and its presence within the OAU is necessary."

Morocco left the OAU in 1984 to protest the illegal admission of the so-called Sahrawi Republic (Rasd/self-proclaimed by the Polisario) and repeatedly claimed it will not return to the African fold unless the admission mistake is corrected.

Mouammar Khaddafi denied the existence of "any misunderstanding" between Libya and Morocco, either in the past or at present. "We deem Libya and Morocco, a sole family that will remain united," Khaddafi said, adding "we are very close to each other."

The Libyan leader also said his talks with the Moroccan sovereign touched on new spaces in the world and Arabs' status in these spaces. "we are tirelessly endeavoring to convince one third of Arabs who are not African to join the other two thirds to give birth to the Arab-African space," he said.

He explained that the "state-nation is a dead entity" and that "there is only room for the large-scale space, namely big market, big consumption, big production. this is a fierce competitor to national production."

King Mohammed VI paid an official visit to Libya January 15-17 at the invitation of Libyan Leader Mouammar khaddafi.

This was the sovereign's first visit to Tripoli since his enthronement in July 1999.