{"id":3278,"date":"2025-10-20T17:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=3278"},"modified":"2025-10-20T19:38:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T19:38:03","slug":"sixty-days-to-change-the-face-of-the-maghreb-washington-tests-the-impossible-reconciliation-between-morocco-and-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/sixty-days-to-change-the-face-of-the-maghreb-washington-tests-the-impossible-reconciliation-between-morocco-and-algeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixty Days to Change the Face of the Maghreb: Washington Tests the Impossible Reconciliation Between Morocco and Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4547\" data-end=\"4946\">As the Middle East\u2019s political map shifts with dizzying speed, <strong data-start=\"4610\" data-end=\"4627\">Steve Witkoff<\/strong>, envoy of former U.S. President <strong data-start=\"4660\" data-end=\"4676\">Donald Trump<\/strong>, appeared alongside <strong data-start=\"4697\" data-end=\"4714\">Jared Kushner<\/strong> on <em data-start=\"4718\" data-end=\"4723\">CBS<\/em> with a bold declaration: <strong data-start=\"4749\" data-end=\"4816\">a peace agreement between Morocco and Algeria within sixty days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddff<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FLASH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FLASH<\/a>| Steve Witkoff et Jared Kushner annoncent un accord de paix imminent entre le Maroc et l&#39;Alg\u00e9rie.<\/p>\n<p>L&#39;envoy\u00e9 sp\u00e9cial de Trump au Moyen-Orient, Steve Witkoff, d\u00e9clare que son \u00ab \u00e9quipe travaille sur un accord de paix entre le Maroc et l&#39;Alg\u00e9rie en ce moment. Il y aura\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KK2B9p9iqz\">pic.twitter.com\/KK2B9p9iqz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Morocco Intel (@MoroccoIntel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MoroccoIntel\/status\/1980109968624787919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4547\" data-end=\"4946\">Is this another remnant of Trump-era transactional diplomacy, or a signal of a deeper U.S. strategic redesign in North Africa?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4948\" data-end=\"5390\">The timing is far from random. Coming on the heels of the Gaza ceasefire, Witkoff\u2019s phrase \u2014 \u201cpeace has become contagious\u201d \u2014 carries more than rhetorical flair. Could peace truly spread across a region long defined by division?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4948\" data-end=\"5390\">It marks a new phase where relations are reshaped amid shifting regional equations, as <strong data-start=\"5265\" data-end=\"5279\">Washington<\/strong> seeks to consolidate its presence in a space traditionally considered <strong data-start=\"5350\" data-end=\"5389\">European, even French, in influence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5392\" data-end=\"6035\">This statement also coincides with an important UN moment: <strong data-start=\"5451\" data-end=\"5514\">the upcoming U.S.-drafted resolution on the Moroccan Sahara<\/strong>, expected at the end of October and described as \u201cthe boldest in four decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5392\" data-end=\"6035\">The draft sets a <strong data-start=\"5614\" data-end=\"5647\">clear deadline \u2014 January 2026<\/strong> \u2014 to reach a final political settlement based on <strong data-start=\"5697\" data-end=\"5724\">Morocco\u2019s autonomy plan<\/strong>, deemed the most realistic and credible option, while maintaining the principle of self-determination in a formula balancing international law and pragmatic diplomacy. The <strong data-start=\"5899\" data-end=\"5922\">sixty-day timeframe<\/strong> evoked by Witkoff thus echoes the <strong data-start=\"5957\" data-end=\"5975\">UN\u2019s own clock<\/strong> \u2014 signaling synchronized diplomacy rather than coincidence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6037\" data-end=\"6406\">In this sense, the United States is not merely mediating; it is <strong data-start=\"6101\" data-end=\"6139\">engineering a new regional balance<\/strong>.When senior presidential adviser <strong data-start=\"6176\" data-end=\"6193\">Mossad Boulos<\/strong>, speaking from Sharm El-Sheikh, affirmed that Washington would soon open a <strong data-start=\"6269\" data-end=\"6305\">consulate in the Moroccan Sahara<\/strong>, insisting \u201cthis is Moroccan Sahara,\u201d the message was clear: ambiguity is no longer American policy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6408\" data-end=\"6779\">This U.S. stance aligns with <strong data-start=\"6437\" data-end=\"6470\">France and the United Kingdom<\/strong>, both backing Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal as the most credible basis for peace. <strong data-start=\"6553\" data-end=\"6562\">Spain<\/strong>, meanwhile, walks a tightrope \u2014 publicly supporting Rabat since 2022 while cautiously managing tensions with Algiers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6408\" data-end=\"6779\">A <strong data-start=\"6685\" data-end=\"6720\">new Euro-Mediterranean equation<\/strong> is emerging: pragmatic, yet unmistakably <strong data-start=\"6762\" data-end=\"6778\">American-led<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6781\" data-end=\"7330\">Behind these movements lies a broader question: is Trump, through his network, seeking to <strong data-start=\"6871\" data-end=\"6920\">reassert his diplomatic legacy in the Maghreb<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6781\" data-end=\"7330\">The issue transcends geopolitics, touching on a <strong data-start=\"6972\" data-end=\"7026\">regional desire to redefine \u201cde-escalation\u201d itself<\/strong>. Since diplomatic ties were cut in 2021, silence has prevailed between Rabat and Algiers. Yet Witkoff\u2019s references to <strong data-start=\"7147\" data-end=\"7173\">back-channel diplomacy<\/strong> hint at quiet efforts toward normalization. But what kind of reconciliation might this be \u2014 genuine healing or <strong data-start=\"7287\" data-end=\"7329\">a managed d\u00e9tente under U.S. oversight<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7332\" data-end=\"7815\">Some may see this as a <strong data-start=\"7355\" data-end=\"7398\">Maghrebi version of the Abraham Accords<\/strong>, minus Israel. The difference is profound: this time, it concerns <strong data-start=\"7465\" data-end=\"7533\">two neighboring nations bound by geography and divided by memory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7332\" data-end=\"7815\">Hence the essential questions: Can peace be decreed, or must it be built? Can Washington impose its strategic logic on a conflict rooted in history rather than politics?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7332\" data-end=\"7815\">And could the Moroccan Sahara become not a zone of dispute, but <strong data-start=\"7777\" data-end=\"7814\">the seed of a new Maghreb balance<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7817\" data-end=\"8163\">Between Witkoff\u2019s optimism, Boulos\u2019s affirmations, and the upcoming Security Council vote, the region stands at a crossroads: <strong data-start=\"7943\" data-end=\"7988\">either the dawn of genuine reconciliation<\/strong>, or <strong data-start=\"7993\" data-end=\"8045\">another chapter of marketable peace \u00e0 la America<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7817\" data-end=\"8163\">In either case, the enduring question remains: <strong data-start=\"8096\" data-end=\"8163\">who will shape the Maghreb\u2019s future \u2014 geography or geopolitics?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Middle East\u2019s political map shifts with dizzying speed, Steve Witkoff, envoy of former U.S. President Donald Trump, appeared alongside Jared Kushner on CBS with a bold declaration: a peace agreement between Morocco and Algeria within sixty days. \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddff#FLASH| Steve Witkoff et Jared Kushner annoncent un accord de paix imminent entre le Maroc et [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,43,41,76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-asia-americas","9":"category-middle-east","10":"category-the-maghreb"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3278"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3280,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3278\/revisions\/3280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}