UN calls to restart Western Sahara peace talks
UN calls to restart Western Sahara peace talks
Moroccan officials were reported to have been less dubious about the new UN proposal than previous years, stating the UN had adopted a more objective tone.
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Antonio Guterres noted that the peace talks must be restarted with a new approach [Getty]
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Morocco and the Polisario movement to restart peace talks amid decades of territorial tensions over the sovereignty of Western Sahara.
Guterres noted that the peace talks must be restarted with a new approach, which must include the input of neighbouring countries.
| Read more: From the Sahrawi refugee camps: Polisario prepares its resistance |
"For progress to be made, the negotiations must be open to both parties' proposals and ideas. Algeria and Mauritania, as neighbouring countries, can and should make important contributions to this process," Guterres said.
He claimed his new approach to be “dynamic” and said it must be launched “with a new spirit”.
Moroccan officials were reported to have been less dubious about the new UN proposal than previous years, with a Moroccan foreign ministry source stating the UN had adopted a more objective tone in its latest calls for peace talks.
This initiative comes months after the president of the Polisario Front Brahim Ghali hinted that an armed struggle against Morocco could restart in an interview with AFP.
We always look for the peaceful way [to resolve the conflict]”, he said in the interview in February.
"But all options remain open," he added, reportedly hinted towards a reappearance of a Polisario armed struggle.
The Polisario launched a Western Sahara war of independence from Morocco, which started in 1975. An estimated 10,000 Sahrawis died in the Western Saharan war for independence, which was settled by a UN-backed ceasefire in 1991.
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