The Polisario Front delegate in Spain, Abdulah Arabi, stated that the imminent appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the UN special envoy for Western Sahara represents a "historic opportunity to give the Sahrawi people a voice" through a referendum.
The crisis between Spain and Morocco is gradually conjugating in the past. The two countries have expressed their willingness to renew ties on new bases.
For 74% of Spaniards, Morocco constitutes a threat to Ceuta and Melilla, while only 18% of the Iberian population would be willing to accept the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara , according to a study conducted by SocioMétrica.
Morocco is going through tense times with Europe. Since last week, it has been accused of having spied using the Israeli software Pegasus on the phones of French President Emmanuel Macron as well as those of several personalities. The kingdom has already fallen out with Germany on the Sahara issue and with Spain after the reception of Brahim Ghali.
The tensions between Morocco and Spain, opened with the reception in April of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, in a hospital in Logroño, have now lasted for a hundred days. Spain is actively working to resume relations.
Diplomatic negotiations are underway for the rapid restoration of relations between Spain and Morocco. The Spanish authorities are actively working on a complete review of cooperation with Rabat, particularly with regard to the thorny issue of Ceuta and Melilla.
The municipal council of Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) took place under police protection last week. The reason is that tempers flared during a deliberation on the financing of a solidarity project for Sahrawi children in Tindouf.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invited Friday Morocco and the Polisario Front to accept his next candidate for the post of Special Envoy for the Sahara. This consensus, he said, will facilitate the resumption of political dialogue on Western Sahara .
Germany, currently in crisis with Morocco due to differences over the Sahara issue, has tried to appease tensions by inviting the kingdom to the second Libya conference. But Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita simply declined the offer.
Former Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has called on the government of Pedro Sanchez to "do everything possible to restore good relations with Morocco as soon as possible".
The participation of Podemos leaders in the "March for Freedom" in support of the Sahrawi people, which took place on Saturday in Madrid, has revived tensions between Spain and Morocco. For the Moroccans, it is a "provocation".
Spain’s new position, which is now ready to "consider any solution" proposed by Morocco on the Sahara , can be considered a victory for Moroccan diplomacy, according to an expert in international relations who stresses that this could be the beginning of a easing of tensions between Rabat and Madrid.