Trump's Senior Advisor: Algeria is a party to the Western Sahara conflict

Mossad Boulos, the Senior Advisor to the U.S. President on African and Middle Eastern Affairs, has highlighted that U.N. Resolution 2797, released at the end of last October, clearly identifies the parties involved in the Western Sahara conflict.

In an interview with the German channel DW during the Munich Security Conference, Boulos explained that the resolution names «Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania», as the concerned parties. He noted that «these parties are involved to varying degrees».

Despite the U.N. resolution explicitly naming Algeria as a party to the conflict, Algeria continues to insist on its role as merely an «observer». Notably, Algeria abstained from voting on this resolution.

Following negotiations on February 8 and 9 at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, an official Algerian source, speaking to Algerian media, stated, «The portrayal by Moroccan media of these direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front, under the auspices of the United Nations and the United States, does not accurately reflect the nature of the discussions».

The source further commented, «Algeria, like Mauritania, participates only as an observer in these talks, given its status as a neighboring country».

Previously, Algeria had opted out of the roundtable process on the Sahara, arguing that Morocco aims to cast it as a party to the conflict. Its involvement in the Madrid negotiations concerning «genuine» autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is reportedly due to American pressure.

Meanwhile, Mossad Boulos declined to provide details about the discussions held in Madrid, stressing the confidentiality and complexity of the talks.