Asharq Al awsat
The UN envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, has briefed the Security Council on his second regional tour that took him to Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Polisario camps in southwest Algeria.
Koehler said he is planning to convene talks for a settlement in Western Sahara before the end of the year, prompting Rabat to stress that there can’t be a solution to the conflict unless Algeria is involved in the talks.
“There is a lot of support from the council for his (the envoy’s) approach and for his proposal to see if he can try to bring the parties together by the end of the year,” said British Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen, whose country holds the Security Council presidency this month.
Koehler will be holding consultations with “all the parties involved” on “modalities, format and everything else,” Allen told reporters after the Council meeting on Wednesday.
In its Resolution 2414, which it adopted in April, the Security Council called upon the neighboring states, in reference to Algeria, “to make important contributions to the political process and to increase their engagement in the negotiating process.”
Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara.
