chargement...
The second round-table, that brought four delegations from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario Front together, ended on Friday. The UN personal envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler expressed his satisfaction in a statement that was sent, Friday, to Yabiladi.
«The delegations have committed themselves courteously, openly and in an atmosphere of mutual respect».
The Moroccan side is «satisfied» with these talks, a well-informed source told Yabiladi. And for good reason : the text made public «was consistent with the agenda of the meeting which focused on the parameters of the political solution based on realism, pragmatism and the sense of compromise and regional integration», the same source said.
A third round-table on Western Sahara
The question of self-determination will still be a matter of debate among the delegations. This knot has not been untangled in Horst Köhler's communiqué, especially since its wording is almost identical to the Security Council's resolutions on the question of Western Sahara.
On the one hand, there is a call to privilege «compromise» and «realism», which is in line with the demands of Morocco, and on the other hand it mentions «the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2440» adopted on October 31.
A passage that gives the Polisario reasons to express its satisfaction too. Horst Köhler knows perfectly that he is advancing and must therefore take the same precautions to avoid blocking one of the parties.
Indeed, his three predecessors, James Baker, Peter Van Walsum and Christopher Ross were forced to submit their resignations precisely because of the loss of confidence of Morocco for the two Americans and Algeria-Polisario for the Dutch envoy Van Walsum.
At the end of this second round of the «Round Table» in Geneva, the delegations voted in favor of the project of the personal envoy to organize a third meeting, in the same format namely Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario.
