Alexander Ivanko, Head of MINURSO and representative of the UN Secretary-General in the Western Sahara, arrived last night in Laayoune from Rabat, following intensive talks with the ambassadors of the Group of Six Friends of the Sahara, which includes the ambassadors of the permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as the Kingdom of Spain, Hespress has learned.
“The talks, led by Russian Alexander Ivanko, lasted for more than a week in the Moroccan capital, where the Secretary-General’s representative met with Puneet Talwar, the US Ambassador to Morocco, at the headquarters of the US Embassy in Rabat,” said a UN source inside MINURSO headquarters in Laayoune.
“The head of MINURSO held a series of talks on developments in the Sahara file with the ambassadors of France, the Russian Federation, China and the United Kingdom in Rabat,” the source added, noting that “the UN official ended his visit to the capital with a lengthy meeting with the ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain accredited to Rabat.”
“The visit is part of the UN consultations with the Group of Friends of the Sahara, which includes the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the Kingdom of Spain, with the aim of enriching the discussion on the Sahara file ahead of the briefing of the head of MINURSO next April, in accordance with the provisions of the latest UN resolution 2703, which requires holding sessions on the file every six months at the level of the UN Security Council,” the same spokesman highlighted.
Observers believe that the meetings initiated by Alexander Ivanko, head of the MINURSO mission in Rabat, are within the mandate of Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to the Sahara, stressing that “the current dispute between the Moroccan administration and the UN mediator over the inclusion of South Africa in the file hastened the assignment of the Russian Ivanko to the UN mission.”
These consultations coincide with the recent high-level visits to Morocco, starting with the visit of Pedro Sanchez, head of the Spanish government, José Manuel Alvarez, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, and Stéphane Séjourné, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, which renewed support for the autonomy plan.
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