Morocco, Algeria compete over Libya
Morocco may be exploiting Algerian weaknesses to raise the stature of its foreign diplomacy by hosting the UN-sponsored dialogue between the conflicting Libyan parties.
On April 19, in the Moroccan coastal city of Skhirat, reports circulated that the Libyan crisis will end soon and positively. Bernardino Leon, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, announced a major breakthrough in the new round of talks begun April 15 between the delegations of the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) and the Tobruk-based parliament to discuss the formation of a national unity government.
Leon told reporters at the end of the dialogue round, “I can tell you that we have now a draft which looks like something very close to a final agreement. Eighty percent of the text is, let me put it this way, is something that the parties can agree [to].” Well-informed sources on the Skhirat dialogue told Al-Monitor that the two delegations will return in about two weeks to the Moroccan city to resume a new round of talks that might possibly be the last.
This news comes amid a continuing, heated Moroccan-Algerian diplomatic competition over which side will be at the forefront of the Libyan dialogue. Both Morocco and Algeria are trying to portray the dialogue hosted on its territory as the more important and legitimate “main dialogue.” Each is trying to present itself as a pivotal country in the region, capable of engaging as a mediator to resolve thorny political crises and conflicts. Algeria believes its security is threatened by the situation in Libya more so than any other country.
It seems clear that Morocco has succeeded in penetrating what had been a purely Algerian arena. Algiers had led the past negotiation rounds and hosted meetings among Libya's neighbors — and gained the support of a number of foreign powers, including the United States. US-Moroccan harmony on developments in the Skhirat dialogue appeared during the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Washington on April 9, on the sidelines of the US-Morocco strategic dialogue, launched in September 2012.
