Despite pressure from Tebboune, Putin stays out of the Sahara issue
The recent visit to Moscow by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune served to reaffirm the historic Russian-Algerian partnership and for Algeria to consolidate alliances in the midst of its regional isolation. During his stay in Russia, Tebboune also discussed his candidacy to join the BRICS and the issue of Western Sahara, an issue over which he is at loggerheads with Morocco.
However, despite the strong ties between Algiers and Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not engaged with Tebboune on Western Sahara, contrary to Algerian media reports. According to Algerian sources consulted by Maghreb Intelligence, Putin only pledged to intensify Russian diplomatic efforts "to find a rapid, acceptable and adequate solution" to the conflict. Moscow will therefore continue to raise the issue in the UN Security Council.
During the meetings with his Algerian counterpart, Putin did not mention the words "independence" or "referendum of self-determination" in relation to the Saharawi question. Likewise, he did not criticise Morocco, despite Tebboune's harsh tone against the Kingdom.
According to Maghreb Intelligence, 'Vladimir Putin did not align himself at all with the Algerian approach to this issue, and did not make any special concessions to the Algerian president, nor did he promise him anything in particular'. The Russian president limited himself to acknowledging the relevance of the conflict, which he considers one of the 'regional confrontations in the Arab world that concerns and worries Russia'.
Watch: President Vladimir Putin and #Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledge to deepen their two countries’ “strategic partnership” as the Kremlin seeks to pivot #Russia towards Asia and Africa.https://t.co/qJXVOVLNP4 pic.twitter.com/mClf6GZpUM
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 16, 2023
Just as he did not endorse Algeria's position on the Sahara, Putin made no reference to alleged logistical or military support for the Polisario Front. "This issue was never discussed, it did not appear at all on the agenda of the meetings", sources tell Maghreb Intelligence.
Russia is not interested in siding with Algeria on the Western Sahara issue because of its partnership with Morocco in various fields. Last March, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency announced new air links with several countries, including Morocco, in order to cope with Western sanctions. Also, at the end of last year, Moscow and Rabat reached an agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful atomic energy.
In addition, months after the invasion of Ukraine began, Russia also sought to reassure the Kingdom about grain supplies, assuring it would receive Russian deliveries "normally and on time".
In addition to the Sahara issue, Tebboune pressed his Russian counterpart to adopt a new defence agreement amid the current geopolitical landscape, reports Assabah. Tebboune mentioned in Moscow the pressures his country is under from Western nations to influence relations between Russia and Algeria. He also stressed the importance of Moscow for the North African country. According to Tebboune, the preservation of Algeria's independence and freedom depends on Russia, especially through arms supplies. However, Putin only described the ties between the two countries as 'relations of a particularly strategic nature'.
