The United States said Monday it hosted multilateral consultations in Madrid aimed at advancing the U.N.-led process on the Sahara, confirming its direct involvement in implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 2797 adopted in 2025.
In a statement posted on X, the U.S. mission to the United Nations said senior U.S. and U.N. officials facilitated discussions in the Spanish capital involving Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania. The talks were held in support of efforts to reach a mutually acceptable political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara.
The U.S. mission said the consultations were part of practical steps to implement Resolution 2797, which calls for a realistic, pragmatic and consensus-based political solution, stressing Washington’s engagement alongside the United Nations in supporting the diplomatic process.
The announcement marks the first official U.S. confirmation of the scope and nature of the Madrid talks, which had been the subject of unofficial reports in recent days. Those reports said the meetings brought together all parties to the dispute for the first time under U.S. auspices, with the participation of U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura.
The U.S. statement comes amid heightened diplomatic activity in Madrid. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita was due to meet Monday with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares, who was also expected to hold talks with the U.N. envoy as part of ongoing consultations linked to the U.N. process.
The meetings were held at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid and included U.S. and U.N. officials, according to officials familiar with the discussions. During the consultations, Bourita outlined Morocco’s updated autonomy proposal for the Sahara, presenting it as the only realistic framework for resolving the dispute, in line with Security Council Resolution 2797 adopted in October 2025.
That resolution reaffirmed that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty remains the sole basis for a viable political solution.
The U.S. announcement signals a shift from political backing to more direct facilitation of talks, giving new momentum to a process that has long been stalled and indicating Washington’s intent to push for tangible political outcomes within a defined timeframe.
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