US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has just taken office, reportedly plans to speak on the phonenext Fridaywith the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.
The new American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is preparing to carry out his first telephone conversations, and the one with the head of Moroccan diplomacy, Nasser Bourita, is at the top of the list. Indeed, independent journalist Ken Klipppenstein indicated in a tweet that a telephone interview between the two men was scheduled for Friday, January 24.
On Wednesday, January 22, Rubio will begin his telephone interviews with a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman.
The next day, Thursday, January 23, the US Secretary of State will have meetings with the Qatari Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. Then, on Friday January 24, and according to the same source, he will have telephone conversations with the King of Jordan and the Moroccan and Egyptian foreign ministers.
It should be noted that a few days before taking office, Marco Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ recognition of the Moroccan nature of the Sahara during his confirmation hearing, held on January 15, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
-He also highlighted, during his speech, the progress made by Morocco, which he considers to be an important ally of the United States. “If you look to West Africa, there are real opportunities underway, not only in the fight against terrorism but also in economic development. I also think, towards the north, in Morocco, where we are seeing substantial progress, thanks to the (Abraham) Accords, but also thanks to a relationship which continues to be built”he said during his speech.
As a reminder, in February 2021, Rubio was one of the many American political figures who, in a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, who had then officially taken office, called for maintaining the decision taken by his predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump, to recognize the Moroccan nature of the Sahara.
Furthermore, in September 2022, in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Rubio, in his capacity as a Republican senator from Florida, called, with other Congressmen, to sanction Algeria for its purchases of Russian military equipment. He argued in this regard that the law known as “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA) authorizes sanctions “against any party that engages in a significant transaction with or operates on behalf of an actor that is part of the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation”.
A fervent defender of democratic principles and virulent critic of authoritarian regimes, he regularly denounces abuses of power and human rights violations committed by governments such as those of Russia, Venezuela or Algeria and advocates for a firm foreign policy. in order to counter the influence of autocratic regimes around the world.
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