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In a surprising move, the Algerian government has sent its Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, to Madrid for talks on the Western Sahara issue, scheduled for Sunday, February 8. This attendance raises eyebrows, given Algiers' longstanding stance of non-involvement in these negotiations, consistently asserting that it is «not a party» to the conflict.
For years, Algeria has pushed for «direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front.» This position was reiterated even after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797 on October 31. At that time, Ahmed Attaf even extended an offer to mediate «between the two directly concerned parties» on the matter.
Algeria is not alone in reevaluating its traditional stance on Western Sahara. The Polisario Front has also shown a significant shift. Last Thursday, a delegation from the movement met with representatives of the PSOE in the Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
This meeting is particularly notable, considering the Polisario had declared in April 2022 the suspension of all contact with the current Spanish government, especially with PSOE members. This decision was driven by «the Sanchez government's support for the Moroccan plan to legitimize the annexation by force of Western Sahara lands and to deny the inalienable rights of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.»
The Influence of the United States
These concurrent shifts by Algiers and the Polisario come amid increasing pressure from the United States on these two allies. On January 7, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune met in Algiers with Massad Boulos, the special advisor to President Donald Trump for African and Arab affairs.
This was followed by a visit by a Polisario Front delegation to Washington on January 23. During this visit, a senior Trump administration official reaffirmed the framework of negotiations, specifically the autonomy plan for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty. This position was officially reiterated by the United States on January 26 during a Security Council meeting.
Alongside these diplomatic assertions, Washington has adopted a tougher stance towards Algiers and the Polisario. This was highlighted by public threats made on February 3 against Algeria by Robert Palladino, head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Palladino justified this firmness by citing Russian arms orders placed by Algiers, including the recently delivered Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets. Notably, the current US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had defended, in September 2022, the same stance in a letter to Antony Blinken when Rubio was a Republican senator.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, during the same February 3 session, highlighted the links between the Polisario and Iran. «The terrorist activities in the Sahel are also the work of the Polisario, which constitutes a significant gap in our counterterrorism strategy,» he asserted. Cruz further announced, in media statements, that he was spearheading an initiative in the Senate to officially designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization.
Beyond these gestures and statements, these converging movements signal a tightening of the diplomatic framework imposed by Washington. By publicly reinforcing its red lines, the United States is limiting the maneuverability of both the Polisario and Algeria. Ahmed Attaf's presence in Madrid and the Polisario's renewed political contacts in Spain seem to be tactical responses to an increasingly clear international power dynamic.
