High-level talks to resolve Perejil problem

SPAIN and Morocco are to hold high-level reconciliation talks on patching up relations after being persuaded by the US to step back from a dispute over the islet of Perejil.

Newly appointed Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio is due to meet her Moroccan counterpart, Mohamed Benaissa, today ok in a symbolic encounter in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, during which both sides will try to draw a line under a period of bitter mistrust and begin to address common areas of concern.

Spain completed on Saturday night the withdrawal of troops from Perejil, the uninhabited island just 4 miles from Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, shortly after a US-brokered deal between Spain and Morocco.