Rusia sitúa la cuestión del Sáhara en la agenda del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU
Russia holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council this April despite strong international criticism. As was the case in February 2022, when the war in Ukraine began, Moscow heads one of the most important UN bodies charged with "maintaining international peace and security" in the midst of the brutal invasion of its neighbouring country.
A meeting - scheduled by Russia - is scheduled for later this month to discuss the Sahara issue. The 15 members of the Security Council will address the issue on 19 April in a briefing in which the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, will also participate. He will present data and information from his recent visits to the area and meetings with the various parties involved. In this regard, De Mistura announced at the end of March the beginning of "informal and bilateral consultations" with the actors in the conflict, including Algeria.
The 19 April meeting will also be attended by the head of the UN mission in the Sahara (MINURSO), the Russian Alexander Ivanko, who will report on the problems faced by the blue helmets in this mission. In one of its resolutions, the Security Council implicitly urged the Polisario to respect the "secure and regular resupply of MINURSO's operational bases to ensure the viability of the mission's presence".
Recently, as the Yabiladi portal recalls, members of the Polisario Front prevented a MINURSO convoy from accessing its base of operations located at Mur des sables (security wall) built by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR). This wall, moreover, has been the subject of almost 691 incidents, as denounced by Rabat in October 2022.
Before this meeting, the Moroccan ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, stressed to the members of the General Assembly that the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara has become "the only credible political solution to this artificial conflict". A multitude of countries - including the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain and Germany - have already expressed their support for the plan presented by Rabat. Likewise, as Hilale recalled, several nations have already openly recognised the Moroccan ownership of the Sahara, even opening consulates in the two main cities of the region, Laayoune and Dakhla.
Russia, despite its strong ties with Algeria, will try to adopt a neutral stance. According to Hespress, Moscow hopes to intensify its relations with Rabat. Proof of this is a fisheries agreement reached between the two countries at the end of 2022 that allows Russian vessels to fish in Moroccan waters.
A recent telephone conversation between Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was also noteworthy in this regard. The two diplomats discussed 'the development of bilateral relations within the framework of mutual respect, constructive dialogue and the strengthening of sectoral cooperation', as well as 'regional and international issues', according to a statement from the Moroccan Foreign Ministry.
