Ukraine backs Morocco’s autonomy plan for Sahara, foreign minister

On May 22, 2023

On an official visit to Rabat, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reaffirmed Ukraine’s support for the autonomy proposal offered by Morocco in 2007 as a valid and trustworthy basis for settling the Sahara dispute.

Kuleba and Nasser Bourita, the minister of foreign affairs, participated in a press conference together.

As part of his second tour of African countries, Kuleba arrived in Morocco on Sunday to start discussions with Moroccan officials.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy added that Ukraine supports Staffan de Mistura’s efforts to establish a workable, lasting, and equitable political solution that complies with UN Security Council resolutions in his capacity as the UN Secretary General’s personal envoy for the Sahara region.

As part of the first-ever tour of African countries, the Ukrainian Minister visited Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Kenya in October 2022.

The goal of the African visit by the Ukrainian Minister is to involve Morocco and as many other African countries as possible in the implementation of Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s Peace Formula.

The Ukrainian minister’s tours are primarily intended to garner political support for Ukraine from southern countries against Russian aggression, particularly the most recent attempt to annex Ukrainian territory.

Gaining support for Ukrainian grain exports under the auspices of the Black Sea Grain Initiative is another objective of the foreign minister of Ukraine’s visit.

The Ukrainian ministry also hopes to create new business opportunities by attracting interest from Africa in Ukrainian products and services, particularly in the areas of food, medicine, high-tech equipment, education, experience in digital transformation, and diplomatic skills.

Morocco stated in February 2023 that it was fully committed to upholding the UN members’ territorial integrity and that it was in favor of peaceful dispute resolution.

Following earlier abstentions from the previous UN session in 2022, the Moroccan nation supported a UN General Assembly resolution.

Today, Kuleba emphasized that Morocco and Ukraine both recognize the value of territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The position of the Kingdom is based on support for a good neighborhood strategy as well as adherence to the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, according to Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not being participated in by Morocco, according to Bourita.