Algeria decides to withdraw its ambassador

According to the Reuters news agency, Algeria had taken a similar step against Spain in 2022 when it supported Morocco's autonomy plan.

The Moroccan Royal Court, in a statement issued today, expressed its satisfaction with France's support for the autonomy-based solution plan for the disputed Western Sahara issue under Rabat's sovereignty.

"AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT"

The Moroccan Royal Court made a statement regarding the letter written by French President Emmanuel Macron to King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne. The statement noted that France views the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the appropriate framework for resolving the Western Sahara issue.

Pointing out that France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the statement evaluated this step by France as an extremely important development supporting Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The statement emphasized that Macron stressed his country's support for the autonomy plan is clear and unwavering, stating that the autonomy plan constitutes the only basis for reaching a fair, sustainable, and negotiated political solution in accordance with UNSC resolutions.

"TIED TO MOROCCO'S SOVEREIGNTY"

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that the present and future of Western Sahara are tied to Morocco's sovereignty, noting France's intention to act in line with this position at both national and international levels, while Algeria had expressed on July 25 that it felt 'great regret and strongly condemned' the French government's decision to support Morocco's autonomy plan.

WESTERN SAHARA ISSUE

The Western Sahara region, which consists of two main territories called Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro and is under Morocco's de facto sovereignty, has turned into an unresolved problem within the Morocco-Algeria-Spain triangle for many years, while the Polisario Front, which claims to be the 'liberation' movement of Western Sahara, stands out as a separatist movement at the center of the triangle shaped within the framework of the Western Sahara issue.

While Morocco proposed 'expanded autonomy' in 2007 for the resolution of the Western Sahara issue—a former Spanish colony whose independence was declared in 1976 by the Polisario Front under the name of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic—the Polisario, supported by Algeria, demands a referendum for the self-determination of this region.

The Polisario Front waged an armed struggle against Moroccan security forces until a ceasefire agreement was reached in 1991 through the mediation of the United Nations (UN). Since the ceasefire agreement, negotiations regarding the status of Western Sahara have not reached a successful conclusion.

News Source: AA