Algeria regrets US support for Moroccan proposal for Western Sahara ‘autonomy’

ANKARA

Algeria regretted US support on Wednesday for Morocco’s proposal for "autonomy" for the disputed Western Sahara region.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara during a meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita.

"Algeria regrets this position by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, who is expected to uphold respect for international law in general and Security Council resolutions in particular," the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Western Sahara issue is fundamentally related to an incomplete decolonization process and an unfulfilled right to self-determination,” it stressed.

According to a State Department readout, Rubio said that Morocco's autonomy proposal rests as the only basis for a “just and lasting solution” to the long-running dispute over the territory.

“The US continues to believe that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution,” he said.

The Western Sahara issue has been a source of tensions between Algeria and Morocco for some five decades. The issue began in 1975 after the Spanish colonial withdrawal from the region, and the conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front turned into an armed struggle that lasted until 1991 when a ceasefire agreement was signed.

The UN does not recognize the sovereignty claims of either the Polisario Front or Morocco, which took control of most of Western Sahara in a 1975 agreement with Spain and Mauritania.

Morocco proposes extensive autonomy for the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a stance supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.