Interviewed by Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan, the Mauritanian president said that «the West, the United States and Europe do not want a state separating Mauritania from Morocco». «Everything you hear, outside this framework, is wrong», he said, adopting a position that was voiced in 2008 by Peter van Walsum.
Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is establishing a solid groundwork for his successor. He announced that not running for a third term does not mean he is retiring from politics.