HIBAPRESS – Rabat
Christopher Ross, the former personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General to the Moroccan Sahara, who was known for his bias towards the separatist thesis, admitted that UN Security Council Resolution 2797 has brought about a radical shift in the way the international community deals with the conflict, stressing that the resolution established a new approach based on taking the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco as the basis for political negotiations.
Ross, whom the Moroccan representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, described as "the best diplomat Algeria has known in the last 40 years," explained in an opinion article published on the "Dialogue Initiatives" website, that the latest UN resolution changed the dynamics of the negotiation process, especially after giving the initiative to the United States to host the negotiations in support of the UN envoy's mission, which gave Washington a pivotal role in pushing the political process forward. The former American diplomat pointed out that this shift was practically translated by holding a series of political meetings during the past January and February, after years of stagnation in the negotiation process, adding that the American capital, Washington, hosted a first meeting in mid-January, followed by a second meeting at the American embassy in Madrid on February 8 and 9, before Washington hosted a third meeting on February 23 and 24. The former UN envoy to the Moroccan Sahara reviewed in his article the developments brought about by the latest Security Council resolution, foremost among which is the adoption by the UN institution of a new approach based on considering the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco as a basis for political discussion, with the recognition that serious autonomy can represent a practical and realistic solution to the conflict, and he also noted that the resolution did not include any reference to the proposal to organize a self-determination referendum put forward by the Polisario Front. Hilale had described Ross, in a press conference, after the Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 2351, issued in 2017, as "for us, Christopher Ross is a man of the past," adding that the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General "came to facilitate the negotiation process, but unfortunately he became the problem," explaining "I can say that Ross was the best diplomat Algeria has known during the past forty years."
