Spain PM in Morocco to mend ties after Western Sahara shift

By JOSEPH WILSON and TARIK EL BARAKAH
Associated Press

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on a visit to Rabat seeking to mark the end of diplomatic tensions centered on Morocco’s disputed region of Western Sahara. Relations were damaged last April when Morocco was angered by Spain allowing the leader of the pro-independence movement for Western Sahara to receive medical treatment. They only improved when Sánchez sent a letter to King Mohammed last month saying that Spain backed Morocco’s plan to give more autonomy to the territory as long it remains under its grip. That has angered many in Spain and Western Sahara’s ally, Algeria. The king and Sánchez dined together after their meeting.