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Just days after Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune rejected mediation attempts by «brotherly countries» to normalize relations with Morocco, the United States has announced that it is leading its own mediation effort between the two neighbors.
Appearing on CBS’s 60 Minutes last Sunday, Steve Witkoff, the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, accompanied by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, revealed that Washington is «working on» a peace deal between Morocco and Algeria. «We are working on Algeria and Morocco right now, and there's going to be a peace agreement, in my view, in the next sixty days», they stated.
Earlier this month, President Tebboune had publicly dismissed mediation from Arab states, saying: «There are brothers, acting in good faith, who have asked us to reopen the borders with Morocco. But the borders were not closed because of Western Sahara, they were closed for other reasons».
His remarks came shortly after both King Mohammed VI and President Tebboune received simultaneous messages from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, messages that observers believe may have been tied to a Saudi-led effort to ease tensions between the two countries.
The U.S. officials’ statements also come as the United Nations prepares to enter a potentially decisive new phase in the Western Sahara issue, with the Security Council reviewing an unprecedented draft resolution that promotes Morocco’s autonomy plan as the sole framework for a negotiated political solution.
