The United States said on Monday it helped facilitate renewed talks in Spain on Western Sahara under a UN Security Council initiative.
Washington’s UN mission said senior US and UN delegations convened representatives from Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania in Madrid.
The discussions focused on implementing Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted in 2025, which renewed MINURSO’s mandate and backed a UN-led political process.
The resolution seeks a mutually acceptable political solution to the long-running Western Sahara dispute, a conflict frozen by diplomacy yet charged with regional tensions.
The Madrid meeting marked the first such talks since negotiations held in Geneva in 2019, though US officials offered no further details.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed the meeting, saying envoy Staffan de Mistura attended alongside senior UN and US officials.
Algeria’s Foreign Ministry later said the sides reviewed broader cooperation prospects, including energy, trade, investment, transport, and judicial coordination.
Morocco and Algeria have kept their border closed since 1994, their rivalry deepened by conflicting positions over Western Sahara.
Observers in both countries are closely watching the US role, hoping it could ease one of North Africa’s most entrenched diplomatic rifts.
In October, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was working toward an agreement between Morocco and Algeria.
The UN Security Council later adopted a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the disputed territory.
The Western Sahara conflict dates to 1975, pitting Morocco’s autonomy plan against Polisario demands for a self-determination referendum.