USA believes that “a negotiated political solution“to resolve the conflict over the territory of the Occidental Sahara, according to a statement from the State Department released on the occasion of the visit to morocco of the US deputy secretary Joshua Harriswhich started this Sunday.
Harris, responsible for US diplomacy for the Middle East and North Africa, arrived in Morocco today as the second stop on the tour that took him to Algeria on December 6 to discuss the solution to the conflict over the territory of the Occidental Sahara, former Spanish colony controlled mostly by Morocco but claimed by the Sahrawis of the Polisario Front.
In Algeria, a country that hosts and provides coverage to the Polisario Front, Harris discussed this matter with the Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attafand announced the beginning of a round of consultations between Algeria and Moroccowho maintain tense relations due to their different positions regarding this former Spanish colony, “to achieve a lasting and dignified solution.”
The US affirms that “there is no change in the clear and consistent position of the United States” on Western Sahara and adds that the country supports the UN personal envoy for this territory, Staffan de Mistura, in his task of “facilitating the process of negotiation to achieve a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable solution” to this conflict.
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He also states that considers the proposal for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty “serious, credible and realistic” presented by Rabat to the UN in 2007, according to the aforementioned statement.
In addition to discussing the Sahara issue, during his visit Harris will also speak with the Moroccan counterpart about the situation in the Gaza Strip.