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Rabat – Over the past few days, several international and local news outlets have criticized or celebrated Russia’s perceived change of position regarding the Western Sahara dispute — particularly following new remarks by the country’s ambassador to the UN, Vassili Nebenzia.
At a Security Council meeting convening on June 8 several senior diplomats to address issues ranging from cooperation between both the UN and the League of Arab States, Nebenzia commented on the persistence of regional tensions, including in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Western Sahara.
Naturally, the Algerian press rushed to cover Nebenzia’s remarks, celebrating a perceived change in Russia’s position on the Western Sahara dispute.
Algeria’s Radio Algerie was one of the news outlets that celebrated the “not-new” remark, claiming that Nebenzia’s comments mean the Russian government regrets the “unstable situation” in the MENA region “, especially in Western Sahara, which is still suffering from Morocco’s colonialism.”
Also celebrating the remarks was Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who interpreted the Russian diplomat’s statement as a sign of a “convergence of visions” between Algiers and Moscow.
Tebboune’s celebratory statements came amid his visit to Russia, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin on the third day of his state visit.
In a joint statement with the Russian president, Tebboune claimed that there was a “consensus of visions” between Algiers and Moscow regarding a number of strategic dossiers, including the Western Sahara dispute and the situation in the Sahel region.
Algerian state-affiliated media Echourouk Online linked Tebboune’s remarks on the Algerian-Russian “convergence” of views on the Sahara dispute with the recent remarks made by the Russian diplomat in the UN last week.
The propaganda from Algerian media was also misinterpreted by some Moroccan media, many of which have described the Russian diplomat’s remarks as a “turning point” in Algeria’s stance on the Western Sahara dispute.
Is it really a new position?
The missing puzzle in much of the coverage of the Russian diplomat’s comments from a number of Moroccan outlets is the fact that Russia has never had a position of “positive neutrality” on the Sahara dispute, contrary to what many decidedly misinformed have appeared to suggest.
Algeria has been among one of Russia’s major allies for many years, with the two countries cooperating in different fields and Algeria being among the top importers of Russian military equipment.
In particular, Algeria is the largest purchaser of Russian arms in Africa, buying 73% of its arms from Russia, while the rest comes from Germany and France.
Many have raised concerns about Algeria’s excessive purchases of Russian arms, including members of the EU Parliament (MEPs) and the US Congress.
In September last year, 27 members of the US Congress called for immediate sanctions against the Algerian government for its continued purchase of Russian arms despite the country’ invasion of Ukraine.
In a bipartisan letter, members of the US Congress stressed that Algeria’s purchase of Russian arms totaled $7 billion in 2021 alone.
MEPs expressed the same concern in November 2022, highlighting their astonishment about Algeria’s decision to abstain from voting on US resolutions condemning Russia’s acts of war in Ukraine.
Beyond being a major ally to Algeria, Russia has never had a positive position in the dispute over Western Sahara – as it is reflected in several stances against Morocco’s diplomatic gains.
Several analysts have commented on Algeria’s propaganda over Nebenzia’s comments, stressing that the Russian diplomat’s remarks presented “nothing new” for the Sahara dossier.
Some have maintained that Russia’s stance remains the same.
Lahcen Haddad, President of the Moroccan-European Union (EU) joint parliamentary committee, commented on the remarks by noting that Russia has historically adopted a “neutral position” on the Sahara dispute.
Calling for a “just and sustainable” solution, like Nebenzia did in his comments, is not particularly pro-Polisario or pro-Algerian position, Haddad suggested, stressing: “Russia has a responsibility as a permanent member of the security council to respect the decisions taken by the Council. When the Russian representative at the UN spoke of instability in the region he may have meant the absence of settlement of the conflict, nothing more.”
Read also: Russian Support for Morocco on Western Sahara Illusory
Algerian political analyst Oualid El Kabir echoed the same sentiment, emphasizing that Algeria’s reading of Nebenzia’s comments is pure propaganda that has little to do with the spirit and broader meaning of the Russian diplomat’s unmistakable acknowledgment of the UN-led political process.
Russia maintains the “same distance” between all the main parties to the Western Sahara dispute, El Kabir told MWN, adding: “Russia has not made any direct statement that is in convergence with Algeria’s position.”
The Algerian analyst went on to argue that the military agreement President Tebboune signed with Putin during his Moscow visit did not amount to a Russia’s embrace of the Algerian position on the Sahara dispute. “Nothing reflects a convergence on both countries’ visions,” he said. “Did Russia directly announce support for the Polisario Front? Has it declared support for self-determination for the Sahara region?”
Russia sees in Algeria a market to export its weapons, he added, emphasizing that it is Algeria that is in need of Russia “not the way around.”
“The economic balance is on Russia’s side: while it exports weapons, Algeria only exports dates,” he said.
He also suggested that other recent developments — particularly news of deepening relations between Russia and Morocco — suggest that there will be no major change in Russia’s historical neutrality on the Western Sahara question.
Yet a number of signals could provide enough material to cast some doubt on the genuineness or solidity of Russia’s neutrality on the Sahara. One such development was a statement in April 2022 by Russia’s ambassador to Algiers, who openly criticized Spain over its decision to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the “most serious and credible” political solution to end the dispute.
Commenting on Spain’s decision in an interview last year, former Russia’s ambassador to Algiers Igor Belyaev described Madrid’s stance as a “result of pressure to modify its position.” In addition, Russia was also among the first few countries that responded unfavorably against the US decision to recognize Morocco’s Western Sahara sovereignty in December 2020.
Despite its claimed “positive” neutrality, Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov conveyed Russia’s criticism of the US decision, suggesting that this new position violated “international law.”
At the UN, meanwhile, Russia has either repeatedly voted against or abstained from voting for resolutions that endorsed Morocco’s efforts in the UN-led political process.
Many see Russia’s repeated abstention from votes as a signal to appease Algeria – which is one of the main parties to the dispute.
