London deems Morocco’s efforts in the Sahara issue “serious and credible”

British Minister for North Africa & Middle East Andrew Murrison reiterated on Tuesday in Rabat, the full support of the United Kingdom to the UN process for the settlement of the Sahara issue, deeming as “serious and credible” the efforts made in this connection by Morocco.

“It is important to reaffirm the position already expressed by the United Kingdom, that we fully support the UN process and the serious and credible efforts made by Morocco in this direction,” said the British official at the end of talks in Rabat with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.

Andrew Murrison visited Morocco at the head of a large delegation that took part in the second session of the Morocco-Great Britain Strategic Dialogue held Tuesday in Rabat.

The position of the United Kingdom does not differ much from that of other permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United States and France who support the UN settlement process and at the same time consider the efforts made by Morocco in this process “serious and credible”.

American leaders have gone even further by asserting behind the scenes that the “independence” of the Sahara claimed by the Polisario and its Algerian sponsors, “is not an option for the settlement of the dispute” around the Moroccan Sahara.

Last August, the American daily “The Wall Street Journal” reported that US officials who are closely following the Sahara issue, said that the United States “made it clear that Washington would not support a plan to create a new state in North Africa.

The same stand was expressed before the UN Committee of 24 (C24) at its session in New York last June 17 – 28, by some 20 countries representing several regions of the world. They all voiced their full support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a basis for a final settlement of the regional dispute over Western Sahara.

Moreover, neither the United Nations nor any of the five permanent members of the Security Council recognize the pseudo- Sahraoui republic “SADR”.