The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, stressed, on Monday in Rabat, that Morocco, as affirmed by HM King Mohammed VI, is not negotiating about its Sahara, nor its sovereignty over this region, or even less about its national unity, but rather about a regional conflict with a neighboring country.
In his response to a question during a press briefing following his talks with his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna, on media reports about the proposal put forward by the UNSG personal envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, on the “partition of the Sahara”, Bourita said that “the Sahara, Morocco’s unity and territorial integrity have never been on the negotiating table, nor the subject of agreements or compromises”.
“Morocco reiterated, in line with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, its clear position, already expressed in 2002, when the same idea was put forward by the former UNSG personal envoy for the Sahara, James Baker, on a proposal from Algeria”, Bourita recalled.
The Moroccan delegation, he went on, had informed de Mistura that “such ideas are rejected and are not discussed at all”, adding that Morocco has not accepted and will never accept such proposals which are at odds with the principled position of the Kingdom and all Moroccans on the Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara, which is an integral and indivisible part of the Kingdom’s territory.
Discussing this topic, “Mr. de Mistura should have mentioned the source of this idea, the party that suggested it to him, and those who encouraged him to put it forward, as he presented it to us in April”, Bourita said, stressing that de Mistura should also have specified whether it was a personal initiative or that of certain parties who suggested that he reintroduce it.
He should also have revealed the underpinnings and logic that led these parties to suggest this idea to him or to resuscitate this stillborn proposal that was categorically rejected from the start, the minister pointed out.
The same applies, Bourita noted, to de Mistura’s remarks suggesting that the Kingdom should further develop and detail the Moroccan autonomy initiative while considering that it was time for Morocco to proceed with it.
In this regard, he stressed that the Kingdom’s position is clear and is structured around three points: the first is that the autonomy initiative is an outcome and not a starting point, while the second lies in the fact that this initiative enjoys increased support internationally, within the framework of the momentum driven by HM King Mohammed VI, and reflected in the opening of several consulates or the positions of the major powers, the European Union or other countries.
This initiative is considered by the international community as a framework to resolve this regional dispute, he argued.
The third point, the minister said, is that this initiative sets red lines that must not be crossed and covers areas that can be detailed, knowing that some foundations are untouchable in their different aspects.
“When the other parties express their willingness to engage in the process in which the autonomy initiative constitutes the sole basis, in compliance with the established red lines, it will then be time to discuss the issues to be detailed,” he said.
He concluded that in the absence of a serious, clear and solemn commitment from the other parties in this process on the basis of the autonomy initiative, this kind of ideas “are not on the agenda and remain premature.”