United States supports Staffan de Mistura’s efforts for a political solution

Last updated Apr 24, 2023

Discussions over the Sahara issue have increased recently, especially among the engaged or nearby countries. The necessity for a political resolution was brought up by the United States to Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary General’s personal representative.

Staffan de Mistura addressed the UN Security Council in a closed session after holding personal discussions with the four key parties to the crisis, including Algeria, which has attempted to avoid its obligations.

Additionally, the Personal Envoy of Antonio Guterres met privately with interested nations, including those with a stake in the issue, including France and Spain.

Staffan de Mistura and Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met on Friday, the U.S. State Department reported through its deputy spokesman Vedant Patel.

The meeting was highlighted by the deputy secretary of Antony Blinken who emphasized “the full support of the United States for the efforts of the Personal Envoy to advance the ongoing UN-led political process.”

The Personal Envoy’s initiative to step up his consultations to accomplish this was welcomed by Sherman.

The Assistant Secretary and the Personal Envoy “discussed the importance of building on the momentum of the substantive consultations held by the UN in March to achieve a lasting and dignified political solution for the people of the Sahara,” the same source said.

The UN roundtable process, as outlined in the pertinent UN Security Council resolutions, is still being pursued by the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy.

The Algerian envoy is up against the country’s refusal to move the negotiations toward a political settlement because Algeria started the crisis and founded the polisario militia.

Although it had rejected resolution 2654, which called for the continuation of the round tables, shortly after Algeria, the polisario made statements hostile to the United Nations and denounced the stagnation of the political consultations after the Security Council’s meeting behind closed doors and Staffan de Mistura’s briefing.

Despite the fact that the UN is the only body with the authority to get involved in disputes, the polisario and its media keep trying to involve the African Union in their statements.