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Algeria announced on Tuesday that it is prepared to support mediation efforts between Morocco and the Polisario Front in a bid to secure a “just and lasting” resolution to the long-running dispute over Western Sahara. The statement marks a notable shift for Algiers, which severed diplomatic ties with Rabat in 2021 and has historically backed the pro-independence Polisario movement, insisting on a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.
The move follows an October 31 decision by the United Nations Security Council, which endorsed Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara—granting the territory self-governance but under Moroccan sovereignty. Western Sahara, a resource-rich former Spanish colony, is mostly administered by Morocco but has been contested by the Polisario Front for decades.
Speaking at a press conference, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said the country “will spare no effort” to encourage any mediation initiative that operates within the UN framework and is grounded in the principles of a fair and durable settlement.
The Security Council has previously called on Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to restart negotiations towards a comprehensive agreement.
In a shift pushed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, the council has now thrown its weight behind Rabat’s autonomy plan, first submitted in 2007. The latest resolution described “genuine autonomy” as potentially the most realistic path to resolving the dispute and instructed Morocco to update the proposal to pave the way for a final, mutually acceptable solution.
Despite the diplomatic developments, Western Sahara remains on the UN’s list of non-self-governing territories. The Polisario continues to insist on a long-promised UN referendum on independence—agreed under a 1991 ceasefire but never implemented.
