Spain, Morocco defuse islet row

Spanish soldiers load equipment onto a helicopter as they withdraw from Perejil

RABAT, Morocco -- Morocco and Spain have agreed to a "frank and sincere dialogue" and will meet again in September to discuss their competing claims to the tiny island of Perejil.

Two days after Spain withdrew its forces, both countries maintained their claims to the island, according to a joint statement released after talks between Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa and his counterpart, Ana Palacio.

The countries agreed that the uninhabited island which became the centre of a 10-day military standoff will remain as it was before the conflict started.

The ministers' encounter was the highest-level meeting between the two sparring neighbours to take place since Morocco abruptly recalled its ambassador from Madrid last October.

The talks were made possible by the U.S.-coordinated withdrawal of Spanish Legionnaires from the island, 200 metres from the Moroccan border. It is called Leila, or Night, by Morocco and Perejil, or Parsley, by Spain.

Morocco claims Perejil as part of its territory, but Madrid says the island is Spanish and that the two countries had agreed years ago to leave it uninhabited. (Island Facts)

EXTRA INFORMATION Disputed island: Facts    RESOURCES Map of disputed island    CNN NewsPass VIDEO Spanish troops leave an island off the coast of Morocco (July 21) Play video    QUICKVOTE Who should own tiny uninhabited Perejil Island? Spain Morocco Joint View Results

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was credited with unblocking the standoff by setting out an "understanding" in a July 20 letter.

"The two countries will apply this agreement in good faith," the statement said, referring to Powell's letter. Details of the letter were not available.

Spanish troops began lowering the national flag at 10 p.m. on Saturday evening after Powell's intervention.

Powell made about 30 phone calls to Palacio and Morocco's King Mohammed VI as well as the foreign ministers of the two countries during the past few days after being called in to help.

The 75 elite Spanish commandos, who had expelled a small contingent of Moroccan troops who had landed 10 days ago, were removed by helicopter from the small island just hours after the deal was agreed.

The operation, watched by some Moroccan residents, was completed in just 90 minutes.

A statement from the Spanish government's office was released shortly before the troops were withdrawn. "Spain and Morocco have reached an agreement over Perejil Island that means a return to the status quo," it said.

"The government of Spain thanks the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, for the work undertaken to facilitate this agreement."

Spanish soldiers lower a pole with the Spanish flag as they prepare to leave

The two countries do not only have differing claims over Perejil. Morocco also has designs on the Spanish north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Spain has consistently said are not up for negotiation.

They have also squabbled over immigration, fishing rights, oil exploration and the future of Western Sahara.

The left-leaning El Pais Spanish newspaper said in an editorial: "Finally diplomacy saved an absurd situation, of the same kind as the errors on both sides in the past few months, and in which policy on the Spanish side has not been what we might expect from a country that brags of its weight on the international stage."

The right-wing daily ABC stressed the importance of normalising relations. It said: "The solution agreed should serve as a basis for future steps which contribute to re-establishing relations, the deterioration of which did not benefit anyone."

Morocco's official MAP news agency, which usually reflects the government's views, hailed the deal as a victory and added the accord put an end to the "Spanish occupation" of the islet.