Algeria FM: Morocco has failed to impose autonomy as the only solution for Western Sahara

Algeria’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, said that Morocco has failed to impose its autonomy proposal as the sole solution to the Western Sahara dispute. He urged the United States to abandon what he described as its “national stance” and to act instead as a genuine mediator.

His remarks followed the United Nations Security Council’s vote on Friday in favour of supporting Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, describing it as “the most realistic solution” to the long-standing dispute. The Council also called on all parties to engage in negotiations based on this proposal and extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another year.

Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front, did not vote on the resolution drafted by the United States, while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained.

In an exclusive interview with the Algerian international TV channel (AL24 News) on Sunday evening — his first official reaction to the latest Security Council resolution — Minister Attaf revealed that Morocco had attempted, during the Council’s recent session on Western Sahara, to use the opportunity to push through a draft resolution that serves its long-standing objectives in the matter.

READ: UN Security Council backs Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara