US calms Rabat over official’s visit to Algerian refugee camp
The Rabat elite are becoming skittish about US-Algeria relations, with one particular visit of a US official to an Algerian refugee camp sparking a diplomatic flurry, resulting in a statement from Washington aimed at calming them.
The US renewed its position on the Sahara issue and supported Morocco’s autonomy plan, according to international news agencies on November 22nd.
The state department dusted off its dog-eared and rather delphic statement it always uses when talking about Morocco’s UN proposal which would give Rabat power over Western Sahara but equally give the local people semi autonomy.
It also made the repeated, tepid supporting sentiment towards the UN official himself in Western Sahara.
Both these expression and symbolic gestures from the US is all that the Rabat elite need to rest assured that the US is with them on Western Sahara, despite the truth being a little farther away from this convenient interpretation.
READ: Algerian army chief to acquire more arms from China
US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington considers “Morocco’s autonomy plan” was “serious, credible, and realistic, and one potential approach to meet the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara” – the standard script which the US and many EU countries stick to when speaking of Morocco’s bid to get full recognition of its sovereignty which shows a contingent of support for the Moroccan plan, without important caveats which Rabat chooses to ignore when its own state media report on the statements.
During a press briefing in Washington, the spokesman droned on that Washington “fully supports the UN personal envoy of the secretary-general as he intensifies the UN-led political process on Western Sahara to advance an enduring and dignified solution without further delay.”
He was then asked by a journalist about a recent visit of a US ambassador to an Algerian refugee camp – a question which may well have been planted by the state department and Moroccan officials.
In response to the question about the recent visit by US Ambassador to Algeria Elizabeth Aubin to Tindouf, Miller explained that it falls within the framework of a UN-organized visit to the region, which brought together a broad range of international donors.
Aubin herself though had stated in March 2022 that relations between the US and Algeria are “important and strong” in line with a number of high profile visits of Biden and Blinken to the country in 2023 aimed at calming tensions between Russia and countries aligned to the US in Africa.
Miller stressed that the United States is the most significant contributor worldwide to international humanitarian efforts, including through its support for the vital work of UN agencies in Tindouf.
He stressed that there was “no bilateral engagement with the Polisario during this UN donor visit.”
The official Moroccan News Agency stated that the unequivocal US statement refutes allegations promoted by some media, which reported alleged meetings between the ambassador and leaders of the separatist Polisario Front.
Ashwarq al Awsat/Agencies/Maghrebi
