Kifash
08-05-2008, 13:45
Sahara issue: U.S. reaffirms stance in favor of Morocco's autonomy proposal
Algiers, May. 7 - The United States has reiterated its stance in favor of Morocco's autonomy proposal to the Sahara, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs said on Tuesday.
"The United States has publicly said the autonomy plan presented by Morocco was credible," underlined Gordon Gray, who was speaking from Washington at a videoconference held by the US embassy in Algeria.
The Sahara dispute opposes Morocco and the "Polisario" since 1976, a year after the former colonial power, Spain, ceded this territory to the kingdom, under the Madrid Accords.
In a bid to put an end to the 32-old Sahara dispute, the North African Kingdom proposed in April 2007 substantial autonomy to its southern provinces, known as the Sahara.
Stressing that the Sahara issue "undermines the economic growth of the Maghreb region (a regional grouping including besides Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya)", Mr. Gordon Gray noted that "every body agrees" that this issue "has lingered for so long".
The US diplomat, quoted by Algerian daily "le Quotidien d'Oran", made it clear that negotiating means that one must find a solution which grants substantial autonomy to the Sahara.
The UNSC had adopted unanimously, last week, resolution 1813 over the Sahara endorsing the call for realism and a spirit of compromise launched by the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy for the Sahara.
In reaction to this resolution, the U.S. underlined that the autonomy of the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty is the only realistic solution to solve the dispute and that the establishment of an "independent Sahrawi state is not a realistic option".
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/last_regional/sahara_issue__u.s._r/view
Algiers, May. 7 - The United States has reiterated its stance in favor of Morocco's autonomy proposal to the Sahara, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs said on Tuesday.
"The United States has publicly said the autonomy plan presented by Morocco was credible," underlined Gordon Gray, who was speaking from Washington at a videoconference held by the US embassy in Algeria.
The Sahara dispute opposes Morocco and the "Polisario" since 1976, a year after the former colonial power, Spain, ceded this territory to the kingdom, under the Madrid Accords.
In a bid to put an end to the 32-old Sahara dispute, the North African Kingdom proposed in April 2007 substantial autonomy to its southern provinces, known as the Sahara.
Stressing that the Sahara issue "undermines the economic growth of the Maghreb region (a regional grouping including besides Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya)", Mr. Gordon Gray noted that "every body agrees" that this issue "has lingered for so long".
The US diplomat, quoted by Algerian daily "le Quotidien d'Oran", made it clear that negotiating means that one must find a solution which grants substantial autonomy to the Sahara.
The UNSC had adopted unanimously, last week, resolution 1813 over the Sahara endorsing the call for realism and a spirit of compromise launched by the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy for the Sahara.
In reaction to this resolution, the U.S. underlined that the autonomy of the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty is the only realistic solution to solve the dispute and that the establishment of an "independent Sahrawi state is not a realistic option".
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/last_regional/sahara_issue__u.s._r/view