Morocco says that the solution to the conflict in Western Sahara "can only be conceived" with the autonomy plan

MADRID, 1 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Naser Burita, has stressed that the solution to the conflict around Western Sahara "can only be conceived within the framework of the United Nations and on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy plan".

Burita has praised the "positive" position recently expressed regarding the plan by several Western countries, including Spain, and has stated that others will join this position in the future, according to the Moroccan state news agency, MAP.

Thus, he stated that Rabat has been asking European countries "to get out of their comfort zone" for more than a year to find a solution, while stressing the need to put an end to the conflict and not just support a process to that end.

Burita's words have come just a few days after the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, stated that the position of the Government of Spain on the situation in Western Sahara "does not benefit peace and stability" in the region, after Madrid's support for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco.

The former Spanish colony was occupied despite the resistance of the Polisario Front, with whom it remained at war until 1991, when both parties signed a ceasefire with a view to holding a self-determination referendum, but differences over the preparation of the census and the inclusion or not of Moroccan settlers has so far prevented its call.

On November 14, 2020, the Polisario Front declared the ceasefire with Morocco broken in response to a Moroccan military action against Saharawi activists in Guerguerat, in the agreed demilitarized zone, which meant for the Saharawis a violation of the conditions of the Stop the fire.