Russia stresses importance of just solution to conflict in Western Sahara

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oscow, 9 October 2022 (SPS) – Russia has stressed the importance of finding a “just” and “mutually acceptable” solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, during a meeting Friday in Moscow between its head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov, and the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.

During the meeting, the two men discussed the situation in Western Sahara and the state and prospects of the settlement process of this conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry indicated on Telegram.

On this occasion, Mr. De Mistura made an analysis of the current situation in the region where he made his second tour in September, it added.

In this regard, Moscow “stressed the importance of achieving a just, long-term and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara conflict on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Russian diplomacy indicated.

The two men also discussed the “stabilizing role of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the need to maintain interaction with the parties to the conflict,” the same source added.

The meeting of De Mistura with the head of Russian diplomacy, whose country is a permanent member of the Security Council and also a member of the “Group of Friends of Western Sahara in the Security Council”, is part of the series of meetings and consultations held by the UN envoy for Western Sahara since his appointment, with several international officials who discussed the developments of the Sahrawi issue and the prospects for relaunching the political process under the auspices of the UN, with the aim of completing the decolonization of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.

De Mistura’s tour comes at a time when the Security Council is meeting during the month of October to discuss developments in the Sahrawi issue and the renewal of MINURSO’s mandate.

The personal envoy of the UN Secretary General will have to present a report on the latest developments in Western Sahara, at a time when the Moroccan occupier continues to violate international legality and to reject any international approach to the settlement of this conflict.