The President of the autonomous government of Catalonia, Mr. Jose Montilla said that the Moroccan proposal to grant the Sahara a large autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is a "substantial step forward" towards resolving the conflict.

Morocco will continue to claim that a population census of the Moroccan citizens held against their will in Tindouf camps, south-western Algeria, be carried out, Communication Minister and government spokesman, Khalid Naciri, said on Thursday.

The Adviser of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Mr. Andre Azoulay, said that nothing prevents the future Mediterranean Union "from being a discussion forum between Morocco and Algeria over the Sahara issue".

"Autonomy is the rational and realistic solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue because it is the most practical, due to the inapplicability of self-determination", said the editor of the Qatari newspaper "Al - Watan "," Mr. Ahmed Ali.

The British government voiced satisfaction over the continuation of the negotiation process on the Sahara issue under the aegis of the United Nations, says the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in its annual report on human rights in the world, released Tuesday.