The Western Sahara second round-table to take place in the second half of March, says Dujarric

The UN envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler is to chair the second Western Sahara round-table in the second half of March, bringing Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario together in Geneva, Switzerland.

The announcement was made by the UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, during a press briefing held Tuesday, March the 5th. Speaking to reporters, Dujarric said that «the Personal Envoy, Mr. [Horst] Köhler, has plans to convene a second-round table of meetings in the second half of March in Switzerland».

Dujarric explained that in preparation for the second round-table in February and early March, Köhler «has been holding bilateral consultations».

On Monday and Tuesday, in Berlin, the UN personal envoy and a Polisario delegation held consultations that, according to the Front, «come in the context of Mr. Köhler's efforts aimed at activating the United Nations-sponsored political process in Western Sahara».

Köhler and the Polisario’s meeting in Berlin was announced last Monday by the Front’s press agency, which reported that consultations will take place in the beginning of March, quoting sources close to the UN personal envoy.

Meanwhile, Moroccan diplomatic sources couldn’t confirm that Horst Köhler would arrange a similar meeting with a Moroccan delegation in Berlin.

However, sources close to the file told Moroccan media that the Kingdom preferred to meet the German envoy in Paris instead of Berlin. These reports were denied by well-informed sources Yabiladi spoke to on Monday.

For the record, delegations from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario met on December the 5th and 6th in Geneva for the first time after the 2012 Manhasset’s meetings.