Algeria, which is the main party to the Sahara conflict and continues to be obsessed with this issue to the point of becoming “its main raison d’être”, should sit down with Morocco at the negotiating table for a lasting resolution of this regional conflict.
The remarks were made Monday by Morocco’s Foreign minister Nasser Bourita at a press conference held in Dakhla on the sidelines of the opening of Senegal’s consulate in the Saharan city.
The statement of Bourita comes two days after the remarks made by his Algerian peer Sabri Boukadoum on the Sahara. “My Algerian counterpart has talked extensively on the Sahara issue which is the raison d’être of Algerian diplomacy. I agree with him. It is necessary for the two parties, truly involved in this issue, Morocco and Algeria, to sit down at the negotiating table”, said Mr. Bourita.
“Algeria is a party to the conflict and it proves it every day, whether through statements, positions or decisions”, underlined Morocco’s top diplomat.
But nearly two years after the resignation of UN Sahara envoy Horst Köhler, such a direct dialogue is unlikely. Morocco has approved a candidate proposed by the UN Chief in replacement of Köhler, the former German president, said Mr. Bourita, noting that the other parties to the Sahara conflict (Algeria and Polisario) have rejected the UN Secretary General’s pick.
The Moroccan minister accused Algeria of providing the Polisario with arms, leading to the violation of the ceasefire. He called on the international community and the UN Security Council to hold them accountable, making reference to the obstruction by the polisario militias of the Guerguarate crossing border post between southern Morocco and Mauritania.
The remarks of Bourita come ahead of a briefing and consultation scheduled by the UN Security Council on the Sahara on April 21.