Russia Poised to Endorse Morocco’s Sahara Autonomy Plan

Is Russia going to make the decision to support the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco for the Sahara? During his meeting with representatives of the Arab media on Monday in Moscow, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, made a statement in this direction. Everything suggests that Moscow would be about to take the step. "This autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco to put an end to this conflict will be supported by Moscow as a form of ’right to self-determination’," Assabah believes.

"Russia supports the right to self-determination through dialogue and not through unilateral actions," Sergei Lavrov told the Arab media representatives. For him, the Moroccan initiative is in line with the options chosen by the United Nations. "The autonomy plan proposed by Morocco could (thus) constitute a successful solution if it receives the agreement of the parties concerned and is supervised by the UN," he added.

This statement comes a few days before the holding of a Security Council meeting at the end of October. A new decision will be made at the end of this meeting, which will be chaired by the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations. Certainly, Morocco and Russia maintain good diplomatic relations, reaffirm their determination to strengthen their cooperation through continuous political dialogue and exchanges of visits, but Moscow has never openly approved the resolutions on the Sahara that usually support Morocco’s efforts within the framework of the political process under the aegis of the UN. It has always abstained from voting against UN resolutions on the Sahara.