President Emmanuel Macron wrote to King Mohammed VI that France approved a plan for the disputed territory’s autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
France has backed a plan for the autonomy of the long-disputed Western Sahara territory under Moroccan sovereignty, a diplomatic shift that immediately provoked condemnation from Algeria, a former French colony and Morocco’s rival in the region.
In a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco that was made public on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron of France said that Morocco’s plan was “the only basis for achieving a just, lasting and negotiated political solution in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
That was a notable departure from France’s prior position. The French authorities previously argued that Morocco’s plan for autonomy, which was put forward in 2007, was a “serious and credible” basis for discussion, but not the only one.
Excerpts from Mr. Macron’s letter, which were sent to the king on the 25th anniversary of his ascension of the throne, were made public on Tuesday by Mr. Macron’s office.
“I consider that the present and the future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” Mr. Macron wrote.
Western Sahara, once a Spanish colony, was annexed by Morocco in 1975, prompting a 16-year conflict with the Polisario Front, an independence movement representing the region’s Indigenous Sahrawi ethnic group. A United Nations-brokered cease-fire in 1991 was broken in late 2020, but the region has been stable recently.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
