Special to WorldTribune.com
Morocco on Feb. 10 signaled it stands with Saudi Arabia against threats in the Gulf region and backs the Saudi-led effort to “defend the legitmacy” of Yemen.
“We are in complete solidarity with Saudi confronting any interference in its internal affairs,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said during a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir.
Mezouar said the Saudi-led military operation which began in Yemen last year “proved that it was launched to defend legitimacy” in the country.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh gained control of the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to seize most of the country’s other major cities, briefly driving President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.
Saudi Arabia responded by forming an Arab coalition last year in a bid to restore Hadi’s internationally recognized government. The coalition succeeded in driving the Houthis from the key port city of Aden, where Hadi’s government has established its base while rebel forces remain in control of Sanaa.
The Moroccan foreign minister said Rabat “rejects sectarianism and interference in states’ internal affairs.”
Meanwhile, Jubeir said “of course, there is a Plan B in case the political process fails in Syria,” and insisted there is no place for President Bashar Assad in the future of Syria. He also said Riyadh was ready to participate with the U.S.-led coalition if it decides to send troops to Syria.