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Rabat – US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, voiced the United States’ support for the UN-led political process and the new UN envoy to Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, in an interview with the BBC’s Anne Soy.
“We are very focused now on supporting the efforts of the UN envoy, Staffan de Mistura, and a UN-led process to find a durable and dignified solution,” Blinken said in response to Soy asking whether the Biden administration intends to reverse the previous administration’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the region.
Avoiding a direct response to Soy’s question, Blinken affirmed the US’ support for the UN-led process several other times in the interview.
“We’re talking to all of the parties involved,” he added, “and right now, the focus should be on what the UN is doing, again, to find a durable and dignified solution.”
Blinken also pointed out that there is now an official UN envoy to the region “after a lot of time not having one.”
The interview was conducted during Blinken’s stay in Kenya, as part of his first visit to Africa.
The US’ position on the Western Sahara question registered a major shift in December last year when former president Donald Trump announced the official recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed region.
Read also: The Long Walk Ahead of the New Personal Envoy for Western Sahara
The recognition was further enforced this year when the State Department’s website unarchived the “Multilateral Joint Declaration Between the United States, Morocco and Israel,” providing more support for the recognition of the agreement.
In April of this year, Blinken also informed Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister, that President Joe Biden intends to uphold his predecessor’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.
Various American government agencies, including the CIA and the State Department, also used undivided maps of Morocco, strengthening the American position supporting Morocco.
The US government has also repeatedly hailed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, calling it a credible and serious initiative to end the Western Sahara dispute.
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, appointed de Mistura as his personal envoy to the Western Sahara in October of this year, succeeding Horst Kohler who resigned from the post in 2019.
Most recently, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2602, extending the mandate of the MINURSO in the Western Sahara for another year and reiterating continuity with other UN resolutions adopted since 2007.
The resolution notably calls on all the parties to the conflict – Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and the Polisario Front – to participate fully in future roundtable talks and act “in good faith” to find a lasting political solution to the Sahara dispute.
