Algeria's Tebboune Denies Mediation to Restore Ties with Morocco

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune denied on Thursday, the existence of any mediation with Morocco, in response to reports alleging that.

Tebboune said in brief statements from an interview with local media that "Algerians have the right to know information with transparency, and if there was mediation with Morocco, I would tell it to the people and not hide it from them."

Reports had stated that King Abdullah II of Jordan was leading mediation efforts to bridge the rift between Algeria and Morocco.

This came during the periodic media meeting with representatives of the national press, in which he touched on the files of the Social Front, and political, economic and diplomatic issues.

Speaking about the looted funds, the President  said that approximately $20 billion has been recovered.

"There is money stored in places, maybe corridors in other places ... It is not acceptable for one of them to have a private plane and the other one wakes up at five in the morning to get a bottle of milk," he added.

He continued, "We must use digitization to find out households income. The day will come when digitization is applied, and all data will be revealed, including the citizen's purchasing power as well as annual salary increases."

As for relations with Europe, the Algerian president stated that "relations with Europe exist and are continuing. Our relations with the EU are not limited to visas, but more than that."

Tebboune confirmed, in the interview, that Russia is a friendly country.

He added, "The United States is a friendly country, China is a friendly country, India is so ... and there is no problem with that."

He continued, saying: "Being my friend does not mean that you tell me who to visit... and I will travel to Russia."

President Tebboune affirmed that the relations between Algeria and Russia are not born today and go back to more than 60 years.

Algeria has شمسخ offered Europe to sell its surplus electricity capacity, as it plans to extend a 270-kilometer "cable" under the sea towards Italy, Algerian president said.

Tebboune added that Algeria "is also seeking to double its gas exports to reach 100 billion cubic meters annually," compared to 56 billion in 2022."