The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, Naser Burita, reiterated this Thursday to his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares, Rabat's willingness to cooperate closely with Spain in the return "as soon as possible" of the thousands of migrants who accessed Ceuta at the end of July and who still remain in the autonomous city.
According to sources from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both ministers held a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in which "they addressed the return of irregular migrants who have been in Ceuta since July 30 and who do not have the right to international protection."
According to these same sources, Burita insisted on Morocco's "full cooperation" "in order for them to return as soon as possible," in line with the position expressed by Rabat since the entries occurred and as stated in its statement from September 10.
At that time, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry questioned why the return of those who crossed irregularly on July 30 and 31 had not yet taken place, despite Rabat having "officially committed to readmitting them," and criticized that unaccompanied minors were kept away from their families.
During the meeting in New York, Albares also reiterated that Spain "wants to maintain a good relationship with Morocco based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the principles of the joint declaration of 2022," as specified by diplomatic sources.
With this, the head of Spanish diplomacy conveyed again the message he has been defending following the claims regarding the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla made by two Moroccan ministers, referring to the roadmap agreed upon to inaugurate a new stage in bilateral relations after the crisis generated by the reception in Spain of the leader of the Polisario, Brahim Ghali.
This same week, already in New York and before the formal meeting this Thursday, Albares, who had coincided with Burita in various forums, made it very clear that Spain is not willing to open any negotiation about its borders. "Spain does not talk with Morocco or anyone about its territorial integrity which of course includes Ceuta and Melilla," he emphasized in an interview.