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The international community has long advocated the holding of a referendum to decide the status of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony located west of the vast desert of the same name. By STRINGER (AFP / File)
A second round of talks on the disputed region of Western Sahara ended on Friday and the parties agreed to meet again, but the UN acknowledged that many positions remained far apart.
Morocco and the liberation movement of the Polisario Front seemed not to have approached the thorny issue of a referendum on independence to decide the fate of Western Sahara.
The Polisario asked for a vote – a proposal categorically rejected by Rabat.
"It is not and it will not be easy," told reporters in Geneva, the UN envoy and former German president Horst Kohler.
"There is still a lot of work to be done," he said.
"Nobody should expect a quick result, because many positions always diverge fundamentally."
The foreign ministers of Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, as well as the chief negotiator of the Polisario, spent the last two days meeting in a secret location "near Geneva".
Kohler read a joint statement in which he was hailed by the delegations for being "courteously and openly engaged in an atmosphere of mutual respect".
The UN envoy for Western Sahara and former German president, Horst Kohler, said: "It is not and it will not be easy". By Fabrice COFFRINI (AFP) The talks focused on "the search for a mutually acceptable (…) realistic, achievable, sustainable, compromise-based, just, sustainable (and) political solution that allows the self-determination of the Saharan people. Western, "said the president said.
The parties agreed to "continue the discussion to identify the elements of convergence," the statement added.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nbader Bourita told reporters that the parties had agreed to meet before the summer.
The international community has long advocated the holding of a referendum to decide the status of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony located at the western end of the vast eponymous desert, which stretches for about 1,000 kilometers on along the Atlantic coast, a fishing region of choice.
"Free Referendum"
The Polisario waged a war against Morocco from 1975 to 1991, when a cease-fire agreement was concluded and a UN peacekeeping mission was deployed to monitor the truce.
Morocco, which annexed the territory after the withdrawal of Spain in 1975, considers Western Sahara as an integral part of the kingdom and has offered autonomy instead of a referendum on the country. ;independence.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nbader Bourita said that his country would discuss "autonomy", but that in any case, he "would not accept a referendum where one of the options would be independence ". By Fabrice COFFRINI (AFP) This week 's talks followed an unsuccessful UN tour in Geneva last December after six years of stalemate.
Positions do not seem to be much closer Friday.
Bourita reiterated that his country would discuss "autonomy", but that in any case, it would "not accept a referendum where one of the options would be independence".
The head of the Polisario delegation, Khatri Addouh, for his part insisted that the Saharawi people should be allowed to express themselves freely on how the territory should be managed.
"In addition to a free referendum organized by the UN and guaranteed by the UN, we do not see how such an expression can take place," he told reporters.
The new round of negotiations comes as the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission, which has ensured a ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991, is about to end next month.
The United States has warned that it may allow MINURSO's presence in Western Sahara to expire or agree to extend its mandate for another six months.
Other members of the Security Council are calling for a longer commitment, particularly France, which wants the mandate extended for one year.
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