It would be ‘Illusory and Disrespectful’ to Believe ‘We Can Build Future’ Together Without Clarifying France’s Position on Sahara Issue – French Amb. –

France’s ambassador to Morocco, Christophe Lecourtier, said on Friday in Casablanca that it would be “illusory and disrespectful” to believe that “we could build” a future together with Morocco without clarifying France’s position on the Moroccan Sahara issue. “It would be totally illusory, disrespectful and stupid to consider that we are going to build what I hope we will manage to build, brick by brick, for the happiness of our two nations and a few other neighbors, without clarifying this issue, which everyone in Paris knows and recognizes as essential for the Kingdom, yesterday, today and tomorrow,” stressed Lecourtier in response to a question on France’s position on the Sahara issue.  “How can we claim to have these ambitions without taking into account the Kingdom’s major concerns on the issue?” said Lecourtier. “France is aware of the importance of this issue for Morocco. It is aware of how the world is evolving,” he added, noting that “in the dialogue we have with Morocco, this question, as it has been since 2007, will be raised with a view to pursuing intimacy and partnership in the years and decades to come.” The French ambassador was hosting a conference-debate on Franco-Moroccan relations at the Ain Chock Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences. The conference was organized by the Links Foundation, chaired by former minister and Moroccan ambassador to France Mohamed Berrada.