Moroccan Foreign and Co-operation minister, Taieb Fassi Fihri, says his country is “extremely satisfied” with the latest resolution of the United Nations Security Council on Western Sahara and called other parties in the conflict to show “realism” and a sense of compromise.
“Morocco is extremely satisfied, since the UN Security Council has called on all parties to engage in a substantial and deep negotiation, to be realistic and develop the sense of compromise,” the state-owned news agency MAP, quoted Fihri as saying on Monday.
“We hope Algeria and Polisario will consider this call and this strong signal made by the international community, to be realistic in their approach and especially to be willing to reach a compromise,” he said, adding that “the solution can only be political”.
Talking about negotiations, Fihri said a date had not been fixed, but noted that this principle had been agreed upon in the third round. “We all decided that there should be a fourth round to be held in light of the UN Security Council resolution.”
The UN resolution calls parties to “continue negotiations under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon without any preconditions and with the best intentions”. It also notes that these talks should be aimed at “reaching a fair, long lasting and mutually acceptable solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara”.
To find a solution to this conflict, Morocco has proposed a large autonomy under its sovereignty, whereas the Polisario Front, a pro-independence movement supported by Algeria, is claiming the “right to the self-determination of Sahraoui”.
Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony which has been under the control of Morocco since 1975. Panapress
