The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urged all parties invited for the roundtable in Geneva to engage in the UN roundtable talks on Western Sahara without preconditions.
Rabat – The UN chief called on the four parties to the Western Sahara conflict to engage in a “good faith, without preconditions and in a constructive spirit in the discussions,” which will take place in Geneva on Wednesday and Thursday at the request of his Personal Envoy Horst Kohler.
Guterres’ deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on December 4 that the UN chief “reiterates his steadfast support to his Personal Envoy and his efforts to relaunch the negotiations process in line with Security Council resolution 2440 of 31 October 2018.”
Like Resolution 2440, Guterres addressed a clear message to all parties to the conflict to show their commitment to the UN-led political process. The secretary-general’s message also placed all parties invite for Geneva’s talk on equal footing, including Algeria.
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Morocco, Mauritania, and members of the Polisario Front will also take part in the UN discussion.
Guterres’ statement supports the decision of the UN Security Council Resolution 2440, which called on Algeria to “work constructively” along with the other parties and Kohler to ensure a successful political process to find an agreed and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara conflict.
Adopted on October 31, the resolution has for the first time included Algeria as a neighboring country to the conflict.
The resolution also breaks Algeria’s precondition of being an observer. Prior to Kohler’s invitation for talks, Morocco has been clear that it cannot accept to sit in at the roundtable only with the Polisario Front as the separatist group is not a legitimate representative of the Sahrawis living in the Tindouf camps. For Morocco, future negotiations with Polisario will beimpossible if Algeria does not accept its responsibility and role in the conflict.
Morocco’s diplomacy also stressed that the Western Sahara conflict should be solved between Algeria and Morocco, as the eastern neighbor arms, and hosts Sahrawis in Tindouf.
Morocco’s delegation is led by Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita.
