HIBAPRESS
With the increasing intensity of the debate around the Moroccan Sahara file, Algeria turned to Moscow after its repeated attempts to convince Washington to retract its firm stance supporting the Moroccan Sahara and the autonomy initiative failed.
In this context, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf held a meeting last Saturday in New York with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the talks focused on the Moroccan Sahara issue, along with a number of regional and international issues of common interest. The Russian Foreign Ministry, for its part, confirmed that the meeting addressed the most prominent current global and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East and the Sahara-Sahel region, indicating Moscow's keenness to continue coordinating its positions with Algeria in the field of foreign policy. Algeria seeks, through this rapprochement with Russia, to rely on Moscow's use of the veto to obstruct any UN resolution that enhances international recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara, in a move that reflects the increasing level of tension before a UN stage expected to be decisive in the conflict's path.
