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Unlike expectations, the United States has rescheduled for Monday, April 30th, a UN vote on the Western Sahara draft resolution set to take place on Wednesday, revealed AFP today. In fact, diplomats from Russia, permanent member of the Security Council, and Ethiopia, non-permanent member, were behind this postponement.
According to the same source, Russia in the person of its representative inside the UN Security Council complained about the text’s lack of «balance», stressing that it implicitly backs the Moroccan stance.
Consequently, the US mission stated Tuesday that it «needs a bit more time to consider» the new modifications and amendments to issue a new draft resolution, said the French news agency.
Russia’s reaction to the submitted draft resolution is somehow surprising as the Eurasian country is a member of the «Western Sahara Friends Club» at the United Nations. The Russian representative took part in the negotiations, initiated on April the 18th, and was aware of the amendments suggested by the club.
Algeria’s endeavors
Russia’s comments, however, come as Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel held talks, separately in Algeirs, with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the Saudi and Emirati diplomats, as well as the head of the MINURSO. Before them, he presented a report on the situation in the buffer zones.
Meanwhile, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations sent the same report to members of the Security Council, revealed Middle East Eye on the 20th of April.
The Algerian offensive benefited from a particular international context to influence Russia’s decision and serve the Polisario’s stance. «In this case, Morocco is only paying for the Syrian crisis. This is confirmed through the different positions of Paris and Moscow regarding the issue», a well-informed source told Yabiladi on Wednesday.
Will Russia be able to present a «balanced» resolution ? That is the question. After all, «France seems determined to defend the amendments introduced in the American draft resolution», said the same source.
For the record, in 2016 and amid a crisis between Morocco and former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russia abstained whenasked to vote on a Western Sahara draft resolution.
