After successfully winning Spain’s support for the Sahara autonomy plan, Morocco reportedly planned to let time pass before launching an offensive to reclaim Ceuta and Melilla.
Morocco does not seem to have given up its annexationist claims to Ceuta and Melilla. In his letter to Mohammed VI in which he expressed Spain’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, nowhere does Pedro Sanchez mention the two autonomous cities, which casts doubts on this thorny issue.
According to Diario16, Pedro Sanchez opted to change his position on the Sahara because he wanted to put an end to the “unsustainable” crisis with Morocco a few months before the end of his mandate. For the little time he has left to spend in Moncloa, he no longer wishes to have any disputes with Morocco, nor to have to manage migratory crises with the invasion of migrants in Ceuta or Melilla.
But for its part, Morocco is rolling out its strategy which consists of recovering the two autonomous cities as well as the Chafarinas islands, Al Hoceima or Perejil (Laila), after having settled the question of the Sahara, the same source understands, noting that the Moroccan Embassy in Spain has published in recent days on its website, a map of the kingdom including the Sahara, Ceuta, and Melilla.
Spain is aware that Morocco will not give up its annexationist desires for Ceuta and Melilla so easily. Moreover, the Spanish intelligence services have warned in several reports that Morocco is preparing an offensive against these cities. Pedro Sanchez did not dare expressly mention the situation of the two cities in his letter so as not to annoy Morocco, preferring to use terms such as “territorial integrity”.
