Algeria's Lieutenant General Saïd Chanegriha, Chief of Staff of People's National Army, on an official visit to the Russian Federation

And the statement of the Ministry of National Defense stated that, "At the invitation of Lieutenant General Sergey Shoigu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Said Chanegriha, Chief of Staff of the People's National Army, pays an official visit to the Russian Federation, starting today."

"The visit, which falls within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the People's National Army and the Russian Armed Forces, will enable the two parties to discuss issues of common concern," the statement added.

The visit happens as Algeria’s media outlets reported on increased tension with Morocco, which appears to be using its connections to some Western governments to normalize its occupation of Western Sahara.

The Algerian newspaper, Al-Khabar, accused the UAE of supplying Morocco with a new spying system developed by the Israeli company Quadream, intended to penetrate the phones of officials and journalists in ten countries, as it was installed near the Algerian border, in a detailed report published last Thursday titled “Abu Dhabi.” The capital of confusion,” which is an Algerian slang word meaning “sedition.’

Algerian lawmakers comment on regional security matters: Tensions with Morocco are unprecedented, the return of relations is excluded, and Israel's participation in the US-led African Assad maneuver is provocative

Two Algerian parliamentarians said that restoring relations with Morocco is unlikely, and that they are going through a period of intense tension.

According to their talk, the current tensions are unprecedented in the relations between the two countries in recent years, and they are in contrast to the message of reassurance sent by King Mohammed VI in his last Throne Day speech.

Earlier, King Mohammed VI of Morocco called on Algeria to open the borders between the two brotherly neighboring countries and peoples.

This came during a speech by the King of Morocco to his people, on the occasion of Throne Day, which coincides with the twenty-fourth anniversary of his accession to the throne.

The King of Morocco said, “Our work to serve our people is not limited only to internal issues, but we are also keen to establish strong relations with brotherly and friendly countries, especially neighboring countries, according to a statement that Sputnik obtained a copy of.

"In recent months, many people have been asking about the relations between Morocco and Algeria, which are stable, and we look forward to them being better," he added.

Commenting on what was stated in King Mohammed VI's speech on Algeria, the Algerian parliamentarian, Moussa Kharfi, says that restoring relations with Morocco at the present time is not possible.

Kharfi explained, in his interview with “Sputnik”, that the matter is mainly related to relations between Morocco and Israel, as well as the issue of the Sahara.

Pointing out that the failure to settle the Sahara issue excludes the restoration of relations with him.

The Algerian parliamentarian, Riz

kani Suleiman, says that the relations between the two countries are currently farther than ever from the dialogue table.

Adding: “The statements of King Mohammed VI contradict the reality of relations between the two countries, as tension prevails in relations, which the Algerian president described four months ago as having reached the point of no return.”

And he continued, in his interview with “Sputnik”, that the prevailing tension in relations comes against the backdrop of what he describes as “provocations regarding the Sahara issue, as well as with regard to normalization with Israel.”

He believes that Israel's participation in the African Assad maneuver, led by the United States, came within the framework of provocations on the part of Morocco.

And he went on to say, “Algeria severed its relations with Morocco two years ago and prevented Moroccan airlines from passing through Algerian airspace as a response to the amount of evil that it received from Morocco.”

And he added, "Certainly no one benefits from the situation, and we all hope for a better reality for relations, especially for the common denominators that bring the two peoples together."

Earlier, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that severing relations with Morocco was an alternative to war.

On August 24, 2021, Algeria severed its relations with Morocco, after closing the borders between the two countries since 1994 after the “Atlas Asni” hotel bombings in Marrakech, when the late King Hassan II imposed a visa on Algerians to enter the country, which prompted Algeria at the time to close the land borders. Between the two countries, this tension was also perpetuated by the severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

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Many African leaders attended the Russia-Africa Summit hosted by Putin in Russia this week. This week also saw another military takeover of the government, the removal of the president of Niger.

Algeria will support Niger in case of external military aggression, according to the Algerian publication Intel Kirby.

They reported on the potential invasion of Niger under the leadership of ECOWAS, stating that Algeria will not remain idle while its neighboring country faces an invasion.

There were already unconfirmed reports that the Algerian army has started increasing security measures and raising its level of readiness on the border with Niger.