RABAT, July 21: Morocco and Spain prepared Sunday for in-depth talks on their troubled relations after a Spanish garrison withdrew from a disputed islet, ending a row that turned an obscure outcrop in the Mediterranean into a major international incident.
Witnesses said Spanish flags were removed shortly after Madrid announced a deal with Rabat brokered by Washington to end the 10-day crisis late Saturday.
Helicopters withdrew Spanish soldiers who had earlier evicted a Moroccan contingent, escalating the storm.
A foreign ministry spokesman in Rabat reported the withdrawal of the Spanish forces from the islet, called Perejil in Spain and Leila in Morocco.—AFP
