Spanish PM says Morocco relations 'very good' despite royals row

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero insisted Sunday that relations with Morocco were "very good", despite a row over King Juan Carlos' planned visit to two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast.

The diplomatic spat erupted after it was announced that the Spanish king would be visiting the towns of Ceuta and Melilla on Monday and Tuesday.

The disputed territories have been in Spanish hands since the 15th and 16th centuries but are claimed by Morocco.

Morocco announced on Friday it was recalling its ambassador to Spain in protest at the royal visit.

Zapatero told Spanish newspaper Publico Sunday that he would not make any comment on Rabat's decision but said Spanish-Moroccan relations were "very good and will continue to be very good".

"The monarchs are going to demonstrate their attachment to the citizens of Melilla and Ceuta," he said of the visit by the king and his wife Queen Sofia.

Zapatero himself visited the two enclaves last year -- the first official visit by a Spanish prime minister since the early 1980s. That visit was also not well received in Rabat.

On Saturday Morocco's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, national defence and Islamic affairs said its members would be staging a protest sit-in at the Spanish embassy in Rabat to express their indignation.

The Moroccan government has called the royal visit "regrettable". It regards the two towns as "occupied" by Spain.

Carlos and Queen Sofia are expected to visit Ceuta on Monday, where they will visit local officials and have lunch, before moving on to Melilla.

Around 700 extra Spanish security officers will guard them during the trip, according to El Pais.

The visit comes in the wake of a threat from Ayman Al-Zawahiri, number two in the Al-Qaida network, calling for a jihad against US, French and Spanish interests in northern Africa.

However, security around the royals is "always very strict and there is no need to modify that", Spanish Defence Minister Antonio Camacho told ABC newspaper Sunday.