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Interviewed by French daily Le Figaro, Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune accused lobbyists, including those hired by Morocco, of trying to «scuttle» Algeria’s diplomatic ties with France.
«We support peaceful relations, which are based on mutual respect, with France. But at some point, you have to face the truth. The first step is to recognize what has been done, and the second one is to condemn it», the newly elected President told the French newspaper.
«There are lobbyists whose entire policy is based on the containment of Algeria, and which are present in France», Tebboune said, implicitly referring to Morocco.
«They are lobbyists with economic and social connections and who are afraid of Algeria. Even when Algeria intervenes to propose peaceful solutions to crises, these lobbyists try to interfere pretending that they are also involved», he explained, referring to the Libyan crisis, through which Algeria is trying to play the role of a mediator.
Comparing Renault’s plants in Morocco to those in Algeria
While criticizing Morocco, Abdelmajid Tebboune referred to the Renault plant in Tangier, comparing it to the one in Algeria. «The Renault factory in Algeria has nothing to do with the one in Morocco. How can the Algeria plant create jobs while it only assembles parts of vehicles», he said.
This is not the first time that the new Algerian president slams the Kingdom. In January 2020, Abdelmajid Tebboune criticized Morocco over the Sahara issue. He addressed the opening of embassies in Laayoune and Dakhla by African countries, stressing that «nobody must touch the sovereignty of others», calling «SADR» a «founding member of the African Union».
Moreover, he even accused Morocco of «stabbing SADR in the back». «If you do not respect the constitutive acts of a continental organization, how do you expect other organizations to respect us?» he asked.
Abdelmajid Tebboune, whose country was the only one to react to the opening of embassies in the Sahara, said that Algiers «will not remain silent». «We will never accept the policy of the fait accompli», recalling the «declaration of the former Algerian president Houari Boumediene».
