Neither Morocco nor the UN have commented on the visit to of the UN envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, who has been in Morocco since Saturday for a new round of consultations.
It is not clear if he met Foreign Minister, Naser Bourita, or other Moroccan officials, but a statement from a UN spokesman announcing de Mistura’s visit said that he would meet“all stakeholders in the region in the coming days,” and he “intends to remain guided by the clear precedents set by his predecessors.”
De Mistura’s predecessor, Horst Köhler focused efforts on bringing Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania around two round table discussions in 2018, becoming the first instance where Morocco and Polisario discuss the political process.
Both Algeria and Polisario said last year they would no longer participate in round table talks. Algeria claims it’s not a part of the conflict and Polisario says it wants unilateral self-determination. Morocco wants discussions to carry on.
“What de Mistura is looking for is how we can move the dialogue forward in the context of the relevant Security Council resolutions,” de Mistura’s spokesman said.
Polisario’s breaking of a 29-year ceasefire with Morocco remains one of the spikey issues confronting de Mistura, who has not yet visited Western Sahara.
His first visit to Morocco and Tindouf camps happened in January, making this his second tour of the conflict.
He held talks with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and Omar Hilale, Moroccan Ambassador to the UN.
Chief of Morocco’s diplomacy, Bourita advocated “the resumption of the political process” under the leadership of the UN and defended the proposal for Moroccan autonomy for the Sahara.”
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