Senior Moroccan official defends PM’s statements on Syria

A senior member of Morocco’s ruling Justice and Development Party has defended Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane’s remarks about Syria. Benkirane told Quds Press that Russia should play a role in resolving the crisis in Syria instead of supporting the regime’s massacre of its citizens.

“The prime minister’s remarks on the war in Syria were an expression of his personal feelings towards the humanitarian cause,” explained Mohammad Yateem. “We should not interpret them as being more than what they were, because some people are trying to exploit them.”

The Russian ambassador in Rabat, Valery Vorobyev, made an official protest to the foreign ministry in Rabat about the prime minister’s comments. Morocco supports a political solution that ensures the stability of Syria and protects its national unity and sovereign territory, said the ministry in a statement released after a meeting between Vorobyev and his Moroccan counterpart, Salaheddine Mezouar.