Algeria’s Diplomatic Suicide: Algiers Throws Itself into Ukraine’s Arms in Response to the Rapprochement Between Moscow and Rabat
True to its improvisation and diplomatic amateurism, the Algerian regime has once again shot itself in the foot. While Russia and Morocco consolidate a major strategic partnership marked by the signing of new economic and political agreements in Moscow, Algiers has chosen to reach out to Kyiv, one of Moscow’s direct adversaries. A gesture seen as a diplomatic provocation at a time when Russia is presiding over the United Nations Security Council and showing unprecedented openness toward Morocco’s position on the Sahara.
Rabat Strengthens Its Diplomatic Stature, Algiers Multiplies Its Missteps
In recent weeks, the Russian-Moroccan rapprochement has taken on a strategic dimension. The fruitful discussions between Nasser Bourita and Sergey Lavrov led to the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding, expanding bilateral cooperation to key sectors such as maritime fishing, energy, and multilateral diplomacy.
This diplomatic turning point follows the deep strategic partnership initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President Vladimir Putin in 2016, a framework that Moscow now intends to reinvigorate, particularly in Africa and in the Moroccan Sahara issue.
Faced with this major development, the Algerian authorities, clearly disoriented, hastily organized a meeting with Ukraine’s ambassador to Algiers, Oleksandr Voronin. According to an official statement, Algeria’s Minister of Trade, Amel Abdelatif, discussed a draft free trade agreement between Algiers and Kyiv.
A move as spectacular as it is incoherent, perceived in Moscow as a disguised act of diplomatic hostility, if not a gratuitous provocation, given the bloody conflict opposing Russia and Ukraine since 2022.
Algiers Trapped in Isolation
This latest reversal illustrates the geopolitical disarray of a regime without vision, oscillating between opportunistic alliances and failed calculations. In attempting to “punish” Moscow for its rapprochement with Rabat, Algiers risks deepening its isolation within Russian spheres of influence, while Morocco, pragmatic and consistent, continues to gain credibility and influence on the international stage.
Russia, keen to secure its economic and energy interests in Africa, now sees Morocco as a reliable, stable, and strategic partner aligned with its own vision of regional stability. The Moroccan approach, based on cooperation, moderation, and lasting security, appeals to the Kremlin, which is gradually moving closer to Morocco’s autonomy plan as a realistic and sustainable solution to the Sahara dispute.
Morocco, the Unquestionable Diplomatic Victor
While Rabat skillfully weaves the threads of a balanced diplomacy, Algeria sinks deeper into contradictions, unable to adapt its strategy to a rapidly changing multipolar world.
Reaching out to Ukraine in the midst of war with Russia is not only an affront to Moscow, it is the sign of a broken diplomacy, disconnected from reality and incapable of defending the interests of the Algerian people beyond hollow posturing.
By contrast, Morocco stands out as a rising diplomatic power, capable of engaging with all major world capitals, from Washington to Moscow, while steadfastly defending its legitimate national cause: the full and complete Moroccan identity of the Sahara.
In short, where Rabat advances with vision and coherence, Algiers retreats in confusion and resentment. And in this new geopolitical landscape, Russia appears to have made its choice: that of stability, realism, and Morocco.
Translated from Abderrazzak Boussaid’s French article – le7tv
