Biden Administration Reaffirms US Recognition of Morocco’s Claim to Western Sahara

The Biden administration is taking a step towards maintaining the decree recognizing US recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. The joint declaration between Morocco, Israel and the United States is now available on the State Department’s website. This declaration, which bears the official number 20-1222, had been signed 10 days after the US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara in exchange for the normalization of diplomatic relations between the kingdom and Israel.

During a telephone conversation with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured that the decree taken by Biden’s predecessor would not be called into question. He has now put his words into action.

In this tripartite declaration, Morocco, the United States of America and the State of Israel have committed "to fully respect the provisions of the declaration, to promote and defend them; have agreed that each party will have fully honored its commitments by the end of January, and that it will have identified new actions and work accordingly at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels".