Trump reconoce la soberanía de Marruecos sobre el Sáhara Occidental

Donald Trump scores another injury time victory. On the verge of leaving the White House it seems that the president does not cease in his objectives in the Middle East. The United States will recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, where there is a decades-long territorial dispute between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

Trump has announced through his social networks that he has made a phone call this Thursday to King Mohammed VI of Morocco to announce this political decision that includes Israel and Morocco normalizing relations. Morocco thus becomes the fourth Arab country to put aside hostilities with Israel in the last four months. Under this agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel. It will also charter direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis.

"The President reaffirmed his support for Morocco's serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the territory of Western Sahara and, as such, the President recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara," the White House said.

Trump noted that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States as an independent nation only one year after the US declared its independence from Britain in 1776. "Therefore, it is appropriate that we recognize their sovereignty over Western Sahara," Trump said.

Morocco has had informal ties with Israel for years. It established low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel's interim peace agreements with the Palestinians, but those ties were suspended after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.

Since then, informal ties have continued and an estimated 50,000 Israelis travel to Morocco each year to learn about the Jewish community and to tell their family stories. But the backing of the United States and its promise to recognise its sovereignty in Western Sahara has set the perfect stage for Morocco to establish formal relations with Israel.

"Another HISTORICAL breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations, a great step forward for peace in the Middle East! This is one of the messages that Donald Trump shared on his social networks.

The question now is what position the European Union will take with regard to the decision by the United States to recognise the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara. In the midst of the upsurge in disputes and the rise in confrontations between the Moroccan army and the Polisario Front, this declaration could lead to a worsening of the situation. The European Union will also have to establish a position on this agreement, as several EU countries are involved in this conflict, either directly or indirectly, as is the case of Spain and France. 

The Spanish government itself is clearly opposed to the question of Western Sahara. The Vice-President, Pablo Iglesias, has on many occasions expressed his determination to hold a free referendum in the region, while President Pedro Sánchez prefers to maintain a more neutral stance. All this adds up to the Spanish president's imminent visit to Morocco, amidst the controversy, which indicates that King Mohammed VI of Morocco did not wish to receive Mr Sánchez owing to the executive's position on this issue. 

In the coming weeks it will be interesting to analyse the different responses of the countries and international organisations to this agreement and, above all, the United States' decision to recognise Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.