"Morocco took part in this round, driven by good faith and by a firm will to engage in serious negotiations," Mr. Benmoussa told the press at the end of the third round of UN-sponsored talks that was attended by Morocco, Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania.
However, the minister deplored, despite the efforts made by Morocco in elaborating the autonomy proposal which enabled to get out of the impasse, in the hope that the other party takes the same course, the latter continues to cling to its fixed positions and refuses any attempt aimed at bringing viewpoints closer together and reaching a negotiated solution to this conflict.
The dispute over Morocco’s Southern provinces -the Sahara- dates back to 1976 when the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, started laying claims to the Sahara. The former Spanish colony was ceded to Morocco a year earlier under the Madrid Accords.
Morocco, he went on, believes that its autonomy proposal constitutes a consensus-based solution given that it has been favorably welcomed by the international community which has described it as serious and credible.
Mr. Benmoussa underlined that despite all the Polisario provocations and threats to return to arms, thus flouting the United Nations resolutions, Morocco agreed to pursue the negotiations process on the basis of its autonomy proposal under its national sovereignty.
The minister recalled that this proposal has created a fresh momentum in the hope of moving forward and enabling to get to the heart of the matter during the upcoming round, due on March 11-13, in which Morocco has agreed to participate.
He noted that the future tour of the United Nations chief’s Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, in the region will be an opportunity to discuss and explore with the parties concerned other ideas to move forward in anticipation of the fourth round of negotiations.
The minister called, in this respect, for the neighboring countries, particularly Algeria - which, along with Mauritania, attended the talks as observers - to play a more positive role and contribute to finding a final solution to this dispute for the benefit of the whole region.