Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita responded to EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s recent remarks on Western Sahara, describing his statements as “regrettable.”
Bourita commented on Borrell’s remarks during a joint press conference as part of the visit of Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock to Morocco.
“This is a regrettable statement that does not reflect Spain’s position or Europe’s position. We had direct discussions with Josep Borell which clarified things,” Bourita said. He emphasized that the EU recently issued a communique in which it repeated its support for the UN-led political process to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
“The clarifications have, I hope, made it possible to show that these were poorly relayed remarks, or even due to a language error on this subject, ”said Bourita.
Earlier this week, Borrell appeared in an interview aired on Spanish news outlet RTVE, where he claimed that the Spanish government’s position “was, and is, that of the EU, that is defending the holding of a consultation so that it is the Sahrawi people who decide how they want their future to be.”
Borrell’s remarks, however, contradict Spain’s new foreign policy position. In March, the Spanish government publicly and officially endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
Borrell commented on Spain’s new Western Sahara position earlier this year in March, stressing that Madrid’s support is within the framework of the UN, as well as its Security Council resolutions.
He also recalled similar positions taken by several European countries recently, including Germany.
“All these positions met the UN Charter, which advocates a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” Borrell said in his March statement.
During today’s press conference, Germany reiterated its support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
In a joint communique following their meeting, Germany renewed its support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as a “good basis” to end the dispute.
The German minister also reiterated Germany’s long-standing support for the UN-led political process in the search of a realistic, pragmatic, lasting, and mutually acceptable to all parties to the dispute.
