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The special advisor to President Donald Trump on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, met with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on Friday in Turkey. The meeting comes in a tense context, one month after a phone call between Boulos and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and just a week before the UN Security Council’s review of the MINURSO mandate scheduled for April 30.
The Western Sahara issue was central to the talks. «Once again, the American side remained firm in its position, advocating discussions based on the Moroccan autonomy proposal», a Moroccan source told Yabiladi.
«Massad Boulos did not yield to Attaf’s offers, which involved granting U.S. companies access to hydrocarbons, phosphates, and other rare minerals in Algeria», the same source added.
Only Moroccan Sahrawis to return
According to the same source, Boulos’s refusal was accompanied by a clear demand. «The Trump administration has asked the Algerian authorities to dismantle the Tindouf camps as part of the forthcoming implementation of the autonomy initiative».
The Moroccan plan provides for the return of only those Sahrawis from the Tindouf camps who can prove Saharan origin. Others would not be considered Moroccan. «It is up to Algeria to resolve a problem it helped create in the early 1970s to inflate the number of Sahrawis», the source added.
A day earlier, Mike Waltz, head of the U.S. mission to the UN, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that «in Western Sahara, we have insisted that the renewal of MINURSO be tied to a genuine political process based on the Moroccan autonomy plan».
The United States is also reportedly pushing for a revision of MINURSO’s mandate, although Russia continues to express reservations.
Mali, security, and reforms
The source also said Boulos urged Algeria to refrain from interfering in Mali’s internal affairs.
Bamako has been engaged in ongoing talks with Washington on counterterrorism cooperation, including a potential intelligence-sharing agreement targeting jihadist groups in the Sahel. The issue was already discussed during a visit in early February by Nick Checker, head of the Africa office at the U.S. State Department.
Morocco, for its part, is also involved in efforts to stabilize Mali, which faces armed groups that Bamako accuses of being supported and financed by Algeria.
Finally, Boulos reportedly called on Algerian authorities to undertake political and economic reforms.
