Azerbaijan’s support for Morocco’s action in Guerguerat adds to growing international support of several countries and organizations.
Rabat – Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday expressed the country’s support for Morocco’s action in Guerguerat to ensure the resumption of cross-border civil and commercial traffic.
After Polisario militias’ three-week-long illegal blockade in the buffer zone, Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) acted on November 13 to secure the Guerguerat border post and ensure the resumption of traffic.
FAR’s “non-offensive” operation resulted in the establishment of a security cordon at the border post to secure traffic to and from Mauritania.
Azerbaijan’s support to Morocco’s act in Guerguerat adds to that of several countries around the world from Africa, the Arab world, Asia, Europe, South America, and a number of international organizations, such as the Arab Parliament and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Morocco’s successful action in Guerguerat enjoyed the satisfaction of the Mauritanian public and media, which expressed relief over the resumption of commercial activity.
Azerbaijan also expressed its support for Morocco’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the United Nations’ efforts in reaching a just political solution to the Western Sahara issue, on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions.
In recent years, the international community has increasingly welcomed Morocco’s proposition for a pragmatic, compromise-based solution to the dispute.
On October 30, at the UN Security Council, the US expressed support for the UN-led political process in Western Sahara and urged the conflicting parties to resume negotiations “in good faith.”
During the same session, France considered the Moroccan Autonomy Plan of 2007 to constitute a “serious and credible” solution for the Western Sahara dispute.
Azerbaijan’s support for the UN’s efforts follows that of Spain, which on November 29 stressed the UN’s “central role” in addressing the Western Sahara question.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya urged dialogue in light of the Guerguerat events, stressing the need to appoint a new personal envoy for Western Sahara for the UN secretary general.