U.S. Urges Guterres to Expedite the Appointment of an Envoy to Moroccan Sahara

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to speed up the appointment of a UN envoy to the Moroccan Sahara.

This came during a meeting Blinken held with Guterres, on Monday, to discuss US priorities at the United Nations.

A statement issued by the US State Department clarified that Secretary Blinken emphasized the US support for political negotiations.

Weeks ago, Ned Price, Spokesperson for the US State Department announced that his country will continue to support the international process in order to reach a just and lasting solution to the long-running conflict in Morocco.

“There is no update at the moment,” Price said at the time, when asked about the position of Biden’s administration adding, “I think what we have said broadly still applies” on the Sahara issue.

“We will continue to support the UN process to implement a just and lasting solution to this longstanding dispute, the dispute in Morocco”, he stated. “We’ll also support the work of the mission of the United Nations for the referendum in Western Sahara to the – to monitor the ceasefire and to prevent violence in the area.”

It should be recalled that in May 2019, the United Nations announced the resignation of its special envoy to the Sahara, the former German president, Horst Kohler, due to health reasons; the position now remains vacant.