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Article: Forging stronger ties across the Med: plans to construct a multibillion dollar tunnel beneath the Straits of Gibraltar that will link Morocco and Spain are moving forward.(Mediterranean region)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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JUST FIVE YEARS ago, relations between Morocco and Spain were dangerously precarious. The long-running dispute over the fate of the Western Sahara seemed to prevent constructive dialogue on a range of other issues and the argument over the sovereignty of a Mediterranean islet threatened to lead to conflict. Military forces from both sides left the rocky outcrop known as Leila in Morocco and Perejil in Spain but relations between Rabat and Madrid were severely shaken.
Yet a diplomatic offensive and a series of agreements seem to have triggered a significant thaw over the past year. Although Spain continues to oppose Morocco by siding with the bulk of the ...