Home > Headlines > Western Sahara: US Bets on New Round of Talks in Madrid

The US Mission to the UN announced today that senior delegations from the US and the UN facilitated discussions in Madrid between Morocco, Algeria, Polisario, and Mauritania.

Rabat ? The US has urged all parties to the Western Sahara dispute, including Algeria, to engage in a new round of talks, including Algeria.

The US Mission to the UN announced today that senior delegations from the US and the UN facilitated discussions in Madrid between Morocco, Algeria, Polisario, and Mauritania.

The talks discussed the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2797 on Western Sahara, it added.

Spanish news outlet El País also reported that the talks between the parties to the dispute began on Sunday in Madrid.

It reported that no official confirmation was provided on the matter. It cited, however, the Spanish Ministry?s Foreign Affairs’ reference to a multilateral meeting, convening officials from all parties to the dispute — including Algeria.

El Pais, however, sought to frame the talks as a process taking place essentially between Polisario and Morocco, while Algerian and Mauritanian officials were also present.

Such a pro-Polisario narrative has been consistently and repeatedly rejected by Rabat. The North African country has long stressed that any solution to the dispute requires Algeria’s regime?s full and direct involvement as one of the main parties to the conflict, while stressing that Polisario is not a legitimate representative of Sahrawis and cannot speak on their behalf.

The Spanish outlet noted that Washington “imposed strict silence and utmost discretion” as an essential condition for holding a new round of talks.

UN Envoy Staffan de Mistura is attending the meeting, alongside US President advisor Massad Boulos and the US representative to the UN, Michael Waltz.

The UN Security Council adopted last year Resolution 2797, officially endorsing Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most realistic political framework to end the dispute over Western Sahara.

The resolution affirmed that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty “could constitute a most feasible solution; and further welcomed the commitment of Council members.”

The text dealt a new blow to Algeria’s outdated narratives in support of self-determination and referendum claims promoted by a shrinking list of countries.

Over 120 countries, including the US, see the Autonomy Plan as the only feasible political framework able to end the dispute over Western Sahara.

As the penholder of the resolution, the US notably stressed its readiness to host negotiations in the furtherance of the personal envoy’s mission to achieve a solution for the dispute.

The UN Security Council expressed appreciation to the US for its initiative and urged all parties to the dispute to engage in the UN-led political process to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution based on compromise

It also urged all parties, including Algeria, to engage in the discussions without preconditions, taking as a basis Morocco’s Autonomy Plan with a view to achieving a final and mutually acceptable solution to end the conflict.

Algeria has been frequently reiterating its unproductive attempts to distance itself from the dispute despite hosting, financing, harboring, and arming the Polisario Front, the separatist group claiming independence in Western Sahara.

Despite the adoption of the resolution, Algeria’s regime continues to describe itself as a mere observer and a “concerned” neighbor.

Following the adoption of the resolution, de Mistura emphasized that it explicitly identifies the main parties to the dispute.

“It’s a very detailed resolution – every word was carefully chosen and negotiated. There are several key points: The parties are clearly identified as Morocco, the Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania,” de Mistura said in a briefing.

October 31, King Mohammed VI celebrated the adoption of Resolution 2798, emphasizing that two-thirds of UN Member States now consider the Autonomy Plan to be the only framework for resolving the dispute.

“In light of this UN resolution, Morocco will update and detail its Autonomy Initiative, then submit it to the United Nations to serve as the sole basis for negotiation, given that it is the only realistic, viable solution,” the monarch said in a historic speech.

It remains to be seen whether Algeria’s regime has abandoned its unproductive attempts and shown a nod to engage in the talks without preconditions as stipulated by Resolution 2797.

Following the adoption of the resolution, Algeria’s regime denied Morocco’s momentum, claiming Rabat “failed” to make its autonomy as the exclusive framework for resolving the dispute.

This comes amid the US and many countries’ acknowledgement of the autonomy and available political framework to end the dispute. 

High-level officials from the US have also pledged ultimate support for the UN envoy and the UN-led political process, urging all parties to work toward a lasting resolution of the dispute.

Boulos has also frequently stressed the importance of reconciliation between Algeria and Morocco as a key development that could contribute to ending the dispute. He recently said Algeria showed readiness to reconcile with Morocco, yet  Algeria’s regime later denied these remarks both in statements and with acts in support of Polisario’s independence claims in Western Sahara.

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