The Spanish Government defends a solution for the Sahara within the scope of the United Nations. "That is the position of our country and we have not moved from there," says the government spokesperson.
This morning, Minister Isabel Rodríguez responded to the accusations made hours before by the Polisario Front delegation in Spain, which has accused the Government of Pedro Sánchez of not abiding by "international legality" in the case of the Sahara.
The spokesman for the Polisario Front, in turn, replied with these words to the statement made on Saturday night by the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, who, for the first time since Spain recognized the autonomous route for the Sahara as an option "serious and credible" for the future of these territories, publicly acknowledged receipt of the new Spanish position.
The acceptance of this route –an autonomous Sahara under the guardianship of Morocco– implies that these territories are Moroccan, as Mohamed VI himself was in charge of emphasizing on Saturday night in his televised public intervention.
The Saharawis reject this tutelage and remember that they are a former Spanish colony and that there has never been an authentic process of decolonization that would allow them to determine their own future as a nation.
The King of Morocco, in his speech, welcomed the "unquestionable" position of the United States which, under the Trump administration, recognized the Sahara as part of Morocco. A position that the Biden administration has not rectified. After the option taken by the Americans, other countries have been placing themselves, including Spain.
In this message, the King of Morocco also referred to the new position of the Spanish and German administrations. Mohamed VI was explicit: “I want to send a clear message to the whole world: the Sahara dossier is the prism through which Morocco assesses its international environment”. In other words, Morocco's good relations with the rest of the countries go inexorably with embracing its theses for the future of these territories.
This past week Peru joined the list of countries that accredit the autonomous route to the Sahara. Behind this decision is the urgent need for Peru to obtain fertilizers, a commodity that Morocco can provide.
Last March, the Moroccan government itself made public the letter signed by Pedro Sánchez in which it recognized the regional option as a "serious and credible" way to get out of the quagmire in which the Sahara has been trapped for more than forty years. This track is on the table at the United Nations.
The Spanish turn towards the Sahara prompted the reaction of Algeria, the Polisario's main ally, which withdrew its ambassador from Spain and still today, five months later, has not returned to Madrid. At the same time, Algeria has put obstacles in trade relations with Spain. For now, the only thing that has not been affected has been the gas trade. Algeria is one of the main suppliers of Spain.
But the letter sent by Pedro Sánchez to Morocco about the future of the Sahara in March allowed him to recover relations with this country, which had kept its borders closed since Spain welcomed the Polisario leader, Brahim Gali, in a hospital in the midst of the pandemic. For now, this commitment has allowed Pedro Sánchez to restore normal traffic in Ceuta and Melilla and ensure cooperation with Morocco in two very sensitive matters for the interests of Spain, immigration and security.
