"The autonomy proposal of the southern provinces is a good basis," Mr. Tchaouchev told MAP following a meeting with Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister, Taieb Fassi Fihri.
    The North African kingdom had proposed to grant substantial autonomy to its Southern Provinces, The Sahara, in a bid to solve a 32-year old dispute over the control of the former Spanish colony. The Polisario, a separatist group backed and harbored by Algeria, claims the independence of this former Spanish colony that was ceded to Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accord signed between Spain, Mauritania and Morocco.

    Morocco and the Polisario have held three rounds of UN-sponsored talks to discuss the future of the Sahara. A fourth round is scheduled for mid March.

    "Negotiations should continue, because they are the only way to reach a final solution to the Sahara question," the Bulgarian official noted.

    Mr. Tchaouchev, who is on a three-day visit to Morocco, described as "traditionally good" the Moroccan Bulgarian relations, adding that the two countries agreed to boost dialogue in all common interest issues.