Morocco distances itself from Arab League statement

By Taj al-Din Abdullai

RABAT (AA) - Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Sunday a recent Arab League statement condemning Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria does not reflect the country’s official position.

The statement “does not necessarily reflect the official position of the kingdom”, he said in statements cited by local media.

Morocco “did not voice reservations about the [final] statement out of the kingdom’s keenness not to disrupt the general atmosphere of the meeting”, he said.

Following an emergency ministerial meeting in Cairo on Saturday, the Arab League described the Turkish anti-terror operation in northern Syria as a “military invasion”.

The statement said that participants agreed to reevaluate diplomatic and military relations with Turkey.

Libya has rejected the statement, while Qatar and Somalia expressed reservations about it.

Turkey on Wednesday launched Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria to secure its borders by eliminating terrorists there and to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees and Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara wants to eliminate terrorist elements of the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the PYD/YPG, from east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.