MADRID, March 28
The Ambassador of the United Nations Secretary General of Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, will hold “bilateral meetings” with the representatives of the Polisario Front and the Moroccan authorities.
This was confirmed by Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, in a press conference, who indicated that the talks are taking place before the next short session of the United Nations Security Council in April.
Dujarric mentioned that the meeting will include the participation of ambassadors from Algeria, Morocco and members of the “Group of Friends”, including Spain, the United States, Russia, Britain and France.
“In the letter of invitation to this week’s meeting, De Mistura said that he hoped to find a just, long-term and mutually acceptable political solution that would guarantee the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, according to the relevant resolutions. The Security Council, it could be done,” he said.
The meetings were also confirmed by the representative of the Polisario Front at the United Nations, Sidi Mohamed Omar, on his social networks.
The former Spanish colony was occupied by the opposing Polisario Front, with which the war remained until 1991, when both sides signed an end to establish themselves in a referendum, but differences to prepare the census and. the inclusion or non-Moroccan colonists only restricted their calling.
On November 14, 2020, the Polisario Front declared a ceasefire with Morocco in response to Moroccan military action against Saharawi activists in Guerguerat, in the demilitarized zone agreement, which meant the Saharawis violated the terms of the cease-fire.
