Parsley dispute blows up again

Morocco cancelled high-level talks with Spain aimed at mending ties, accusing Spanish authorities of provocation by landing an army helicopter on a disputed isle.

“It is an unacceptable act by which Spain again violated Morocco’s territory and airspace,” the foreign ministry said.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Benaissa called off a scheduled meeting today with his Spanish counterpart, Ana Palacio, in Madrid.

In Madrid, Palacio said she regretted Morocco’s decision and denied the Spanish helicopter had tried to land on ParslEy, a tiny, uninhabited islet a few hundred yards from Morocco’s coast and claimed by both countries.

Relations between the two nations have been tense since July, when Spanish troops ejected a group of Moroccan soldiers who had occupied Perejil two weeks earlier. The standoff was the most serious conflict between the two in decades.

Palacio said the helicopter flew over the isle yesterday after a Moroccan patrol boat was spotted approaching it, but left once the pilot saw the vessel was not trying to dock.