Morocco is firm that the UN roundtable talks in Geneva next week are not for negotiations.
Rabat – The spokesperson of the Moroccan government, Mustapha El Khalfi, told the press Thursday that there will be no direct negotiations at the UN roundtable talks on Western Sahara which will take place in Geneva on December 5 to 6.
Algeria will attend the roundtable as a neighboring country to the conflict.
Morocco, Mauritania, and Polisario will all take part in the UN meeting. In a press conference following the Government Council on Thursday, El Khalfi noted again that the Morocco received the same invitation to the meeting as Algeria and Mauritania.
El Khalfi reaffirmed Morocco’s firm position that it will not accept any solution against its sovereignty in the southern provinces.
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El Khalfi echoed a statement from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, saying that Morocco will attend the roundtable to remind the participants of Morocco’s firm conditions. The Moroccan official also said that Algeria needs to contribute to finding a solution to the conflict, saying it is the “one which created the problem.”
Earlier this week, Jeune Afrique said that Minister Bourita will lead the Moroccan delegation to Geneva’s roundtable.
Morocco’s delegation will include the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region President Khattat Yanja and the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region President Hamdi Ould Errachid.
The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Horst Kohler, proposed the talks, and the invitations were highly welcomed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council.
The UN aims for the meeting to serve as an initial step toward a more robust move in preparation to re-launch negotiations to find a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict.
