Algeria corrects Washington and excludes any peace agreement with Morocco

"[...] A peace agreement between Morocco and Algeria will be concluded in the next two months," Steve Witkoff said on October 19 in the 60 Minutes program, broadcast on the American network CBS. An agreement that could be concluded "within 60 days". But it seems that Algiers is not aware of this agreement. During a press conference in Algiers, the head of Algerian diplomacy, Ahmed Attaf, expressed his surprise. "I was surprised by this statement because, personally, I am not aware of a draft peace agreement between the two countries he mentioned," he said.

He thinks "that there has been confusion between what the United States is trying to do on the Western Sahara issue and Moroccan relations" and that Witkoff wanted to talk about the American initiative, in cooperation with the UN, to propose a plan to resolve the Sahara issue. The Algerian minister explains: "The United States is currently working with Morocco and is in contact with the Polisario Front. The peace agreement mentioned by Mr. Witkoff is this operation which is an operation between Morocco and the Sahrawis and which is at the heart of the American initiative. As for the Algerian-Moroccan dimension, it is not on the agenda at the moment".

Morocco and Algeria no longer have diplomatic relations since August 24, 2021 following Algiers’ decision to break them off in reaction to a series of "hostile acts" by Rabat. The Sahara issue remains one of the points of friction between the two countries.