US Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Western Sahara Plan, Angering Algeria

On Tuesday, State Department chief Marco Rubio reaffirmed that the United States considers the autonomy plan within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty as the only solution to the Western Sahara conflict. Algeria’s reaction did not wait. In a statement, Algiers said it "regrets the confirmation of this position by a permanent member of the Security Council, from whom it is normally expected to show respect for international legality in general and Security Council resolutions in particular."

In Algeria’s eyes, "the issue of Western Sahara is fundamentally an unfinished decolonization process and an unfulfilled right to self-determination," the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled, adding that "Western Sahara remains a non-self-governing territory within the meaning of the United Nations Charter and the people of that territory remain the holder of the right to self-determination as enshrined in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples."

According to Algerian diplomacy, "to position oneself outside this framework does not serve the cause of the settlement of this conflict, just as it does not alter its fundamental data as recognized by the United Nations and its main bodies, including the General Assembly, the Security Council and the International Court of Justice."

During his first term, Donald Trump had in December 2020 formalized the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara in exchange for Morocco’s normalization of its diplomatic relations with Israel. These two acts had provoked the anger of Algeria, which unilaterally cut ties with its neighbor, Morocco, in August 2021.