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CEUTA, Spain — Morocco won’t try to reoccupy a disputed Mediterranean island if Spain withdraws its troops, Morocco’s foreign minister was quoted Friday as saying, apparently easing a standoff that had sent relations between the nations to their lowest point in decades.

There was no immediate response from Spain’s government, but a day earlier it had pledged to withdraw from the tiny rock outcrop called Isla Perejil, or Parsley Island, in Spanish and Leila in Arabic, if Morocco agreed to stay off, too.

"I say publicly: Morocco has no intention of returning to Leila when the Spanish troops leave," Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa said in an interview Thursday night. His comments were reported in La Vanguardia and other newspapers on Friday.

The island was virtually uninhabited for years until Morocco posted a small detachment of troops there last week, ostensibly for the purpose of monitoring drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Spanish troops escorted them off peacefully on Wednesday, but the diplomatic impasse remains.

"No one is more interested than Spain in maintaining the best relations with the Kingdom of Morocco," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said Thursday.

Both countries claim sovereignty over the rock mass that lies just 200 yards off Morocco’s northern coast and some 12 miles from mainland Spain.

Spain wants to return to the arrangement where neither country flies its flag on the island.

Perejil has been a Spanish possession for nearly 400 years. Spain also holds several other islands and city enclaves next to Morocco.

Benaissa denounced the takeover as a "declaration of war," but until his subsequent comments Thursday night, his government was conspicuously silent.

Spain, one of Morocco’s main trading partners and aid donors, said it would not escalate the conflict nor cut economic ties with Morocco.

"There will be absolutely no trade reprisals," said Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato.

Spanish warships continued circled the island, keeping away boats of sightseers and journalists.

On the rock, two Spanish flags flew and some 30 soldiers kept guard.

The standoff -- with its subtext of clashing notions of justice and equality, Europe against Africa, rich versus poor -- has captured worldwide interest.

The European Union restated its support for Madrid, but ruled out sanctions against Morocco, while The Arab League said it considers the island to be part of Morocco.

Morocco is seen by the West as a valuable friend in the Arab world and one which has supported the United States and its European allies in several international conflicts, most notably the Gulf War against Iraq.

But Spain has rarely had smooth relations with its Arab neighbor across the Strait of Gibraltar.

The countries bicker over illegal immigration and fishing rights, as well as Madrid’s support for a U.N.-sponsored referendum on the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in the 1970s.

Ties between the two countries worsened since Aznar took office in 1996. Morocco recalled its ambassador last October without explanation.

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DISPUTED ISLAND STRIFE

Date Added: Tuesday, July 16th, 2002
Contributed by: RCN Administrator