Polisario Leader Ghali Regrets Spain-Morocco Diplomatic Row Over His Treatment

"Everyone knows the conditions of my arrival in Spain as well as the exclusively humanitarian motive of my reception which has been politically instrumentalized by Morocco to blackmail the government of (Pedro) Sánchez," said Brahim Ghali in an interview with EFE in Brussels, on the sidelines of the EU-Africa summit.

The leader of the independence movement finds it "regrettable" that the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, "paid with her professional career" the price of this "humanitarian gesture", adding that he is "in no way responsible" for the consequences of his stay in Spain. Regarding his legal troubles, he limited himself to saying that he has "total confidence in the Spanish justice system".

To read: Polisario Leader’s Potential EU-AU Summit Attendance Strains Morocco-Europe Relations

For Ghali, his presence at this summit is fully justified in the sense that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is "a founding member state of the AU". "The presence of a Sahrawi state, alongside Morocco, in a framework of peace, stability, good neighborliness and mutual respect, is the only legitimate and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict," he stressed, calling on the United States, Spain and all members of the UN Security Council to become more involved in resolving this conflict.

To read: Spain’s Sanchez to Meet Polisario Leader at AU Summit, Risking Morocco Tensions

The UN Special Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, "will not make any progress" without the "firm" support of the international community, assured the Sahrawi leader, denouncing the "lack of sincere will, seriousness and firmness in their commitment to international legality" of certain members of the Security Council. And to add: "The option proposed by Morocco is not a solution but an accomplished fact of illegal occupation... The international community, represented by the UN, can and must guarantee the self-determination and independence of a peaceful and patient people like the Sahrawi people".