A meeting between Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his Portuguese counterpart, Paulo Rangel, on Monday confirmed Algeria’s adaptation to the “new reality” in the Moroccan Sahara file.
Portugal had announced its support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative to resolve the Sahara dispute in July, describing it as “serious, constructive, and credible.” Unlike its previous reactions against Spain and France, when they declared support for the autonomy proposal to resolve the Sahara dispute, Algeria did not issue any official statement, only criticizing the move informally through the press. Algeria dealt with the matter with a kind of “indifference,” as its foreign minister met with his Portuguese counterpart last Monday on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly. The two officials appeared in a short video clip published by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official X account, exchanging conversation, the details of which were not announced. The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs published photos of the meeting on its X account, showing Attaf shaking hands with Rangel with a broad smile on his face. The Portuguese Foreign Ministry stated that both sides discussed strengthening bilateral relations and organizing upcoming visits and summits, with a particular focus on “the situation in the Middle East.” Observers believe that Algeria, having learned from its erratic reactions to countries’ stances on the Moroccan Sahara issue, has decided to adopt a new strategy that confirms its acceptance of the “status quo.”
