Marrakech \u2013 Morocco\u2019s ambassador to Moscow, Lotfi Bouchaara, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on Thursday, October 9, with Western Sahara dominating the agenda.<\/p>\n
The meeting comes at a crucial moment as Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council on October 1, where a new resolution on Western Sahara is expected by month\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
During the talks, both officials discussed<\/a> \u201cthe situation in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara-Sahel region,\u201d with both sides confirming their commitment to \u201cprivileging political and diplomatic solutions to resolve crises, in accordance with fundamental principles of international law and under the auspices of the United Nations,\u201d according to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry.<\/p>\n The UN Security Council\u2019s work program was also discussed, \u201cwith particular emphasis on the peace process in Western Sahara.\u201d<\/p>\n This diplomatic engagement is strategically timed as Morocco, backed by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, hopes the upcoming resolution will mark a decisive turning point in the Western Sahara dispute. Russia, as a permanent Security Council member with veto power, plays a crucial role in the outcome of Rabat\u2019s diplomatic efforts.<\/p>\n The Western Sahara question was similarly addressed<\/a> during a September 30 meeting between Algeria\u2019s ambassador to Moscow, Toufik Djouama, and Deputy Minister Vershinin. Algeria has been actively seeking Russian support on this issue, with Djouama appointed to his position in July of this year.<\/p>\n Russian diplomacy has indicated that meetings are planned on several African issues during October\u2019s Security Council presidency, including \u201cthe settlement of the conflict in Western Sahara\u201d and potentially \u201corganizing a referendum in Western Sahara.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, joint events between the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council will be held in Addis Ababa from October 15 to 17, where a wide range of priority issues for the African continent will be discussed.<\/p>\n However, Russian diplomacy\u2019s move to resurrect a \u201creferendum\u201d on Western Sahara under the guise of \u201csettlement\u201d is nothing but a cynical throwback to failed illusions \u2013 an attempt to undermine Morocco\u2019s sovereignty and reopen wounds long settled in international consensus.<\/p>\n To propose organizing a referendum now is to revive a ghost process that has been repeatedly rendered obsolete in UN deliberations and ignored by pragmatists. It assumes that the Sahrawi question remains unresolved in the same terms as in 1991, rather than accepting the ground reality: Morocco\u2019s Autonomy Plan is recognized by many states as the only credible, pragmatic path forward.<\/p>\n Worse, this \u201creferendum talk\u201d is a political weapon, not a serious solution \u2013 it validates separatist narratives that the world has steadily moved away from, and gives rhetorical cover to Algeria\u2019s proxy ambitions in the region.<\/p>\n In short: this referendum fetish is not a diplomatic advance \u2013 it\u2019s a regressive replay of old ideologies that disrespect Morocco\u2019s territorial integrity and the evolving international legal reality.<\/p>\n September was a month of diplomacy between Rabat and Moscow<\/b><\/p>\n On September 25, Morocco\u2019s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita held<\/a> a face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. Their discussions covered several urgent issues on both countries\u2019 bilateral agenda, including plans for future cooperation.<\/p>\n The timing of these talks is particularly significant as Morocco has spent recent months working with the US and, reportedly, France on the \u201ctechnical\u201d dimension to secure passage of a decisive resolution on the Western Sahara dispute. The North African country must convince both Russia and China not to use their veto power to block such a resolution.<\/p>\n On September 18, Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary-General\u2019s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, visited Moscow, where he discussed restarting political dialogue with Deputy Minister Vershinin toward \u201ca just, durable, and mutually acceptable solution.\u201d<\/p>\n The Russian Foreign Ministry described the Western Sahara dispute as a \u201clegacy of colonialism\u201d and stated that resolving the issue would promote regional stability in North Africa and the Sahel-Sahara region.<\/p>\n Beyond the Western Sahara dispute, Russia and Morocco are working to strengthen their bilateral relations. On September 9, Bourita and Lavrov held<\/a> a phone conversation to discuss the agenda for the upcoming VIII Joint Commission meeting.<\/p>\n Russia includes Morocco in expanding African partnerships<\/b><\/p>\n