Sahara : Nikki Haley has held talks with Russian, Ethiopian and Swedish representatives

Moscow’s attempts to change amendments added to the draft resolution on Western Sahara have force Washington to take care of business. Negotiations are underway, since yesterday, with the aim of overcoming this blockage.

Sources told Yabiladi that the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley held meetings, separately, yesterday with representatives from Russia and Ethiopia. The two countries have complained about the text’s lack of «balance», stressing that it implicitly backs the Moroccan stance, pushing the United States to reschedule for Monday, April 30th, a UN vote on the Western Sahara draft resolution.

The American diplomat held talks on the same day with her Swedish counterpart. For the record, Stockholm has some reservations about the draft resolution expected to renew the MINURSO’s mandate. Responding to a request submitted by Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sweden is willing to bring back its old call, urging the MINURSO to monitor the human rights situation in the Sahara.

«The Western Sahara Friends Club» to hold a meeting Thursday

Consequently, the «Western Sahara Friends Club» is expected to hold an urgent meeting Thursday. The group includes the United States, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Russia. Morocco relies heavily on France’s support to defend its stance. Indeed, Paris has brought to the first version of the draft resolution amendments that back the Kingdom’s situation.

The current negotiations must not exceed the 29th of April, the day on which the MINURSO’s mandate is set to expire. «Given the lack of consensus, the draft resolution will be submitted for adoption and each member of the Security Council will vote according to their own strategic interests», a well-informed source told Yabiladi on Thursday.

For the record, in 2016 resolution 2285 was approved by 10 votes against 2 (Uruguay and Venezuela) and 3 abstentions (China, Russia and New Zealand).