Rabat - Algeria has refused calls from Morocco and the United Nations to cooperate in settling the Western Sahara conflict, sidestepping calls for its engagement in conflict negotiations.
Rabat – Algeria has refused calls from Morocco and the United Nations to cooperate in settling the Western Sahara conflict, sidestepping calls for its engagement in conflict negotiations.
In a statement published by Agence France Press (AFP), a source at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Algeria’s support of the Sahrawi people and its legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, does not mean that it should be involved in negotiations” between Morocco and the separatist group.
Morocco and the United Nations have been calling on Algeria to cooperate in the conflict, including the situation in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps.
On Wednesday, King Mohammed VI addressed a written message to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reiterating that Algeria bears a “full responsibility” in the Sahara question.
“It is Algeria that hosts, arms, backs up, and brings diplomatic support for the Polisario,” the King stated.
The UNSG submitted this week his annual report to the Security Council on the Situation on Western Sahara. In the advanced copy of the report, which was made available on March 31, Guterres denounced Polisario’s activities and called on Algeria to increase its engagement in the political process.
Recently, regional tensions have escalated due to Polisario’s repeated provocative military movements in the buffer zones, east of Morocco’s defense wall. Morocco has been urging the United Nations and the Security Council to put an end to Polisario’s maneuvers in the region, emphasizing that the country will not hesitate to repel any further escalation from the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
