Germany and Morocco on Thursday reiterated their call for a UN-backed diplomatic solution for the West Sahara conflict.
“We know that the Western Sahara question is particularly central to them (Morocco). So, you know our longstanding support for the process led by the United Nations. It is the most promising path to a fair, pragmatic, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at a news conference in Berlin with her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.
Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan for the Sahara region could be a solution agreed upon by all parties to the conflict, she added.
The Moroccan representative echoed some of the sentiments, expressing that his country is actively collaborating with the United Nations in the search for a solution to the issue.
“We are working to find a solution within the framework of the United Nations and together we support the efforts of Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura,” said Bourita.
After causing tensions with Morocco by criticizing American-supported Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Berlin managed to reconcile with Rabat last year.
Germany had lambasted former US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, a stance Rabat termed as “unfriendly.”
The desert region has been claimed by Morocco and the Indigenous Sahrawi family, led by the Polisario Front and backed by Algeria.
Polisario is fighting for an independence referendum and has the support of the UN.