Positions of key players in Western Sahara quasi-irreconcilable, says UN envoy

The positions of most key players in the Western Sahara dispute are quasi-irreconcilable, though they all hold strong views on the need for a durable solution, the senior United Nations envoy on the issue said today at the end of a visit to the region.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal envoy Peter van Walsum held talks with all the principals in a bid to overcome the impasse blocking a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony which Morocco claims as part of its own territory but where the Frente POLISARIO is seeking independence.

During his visit Mr. van Walsum met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI in Rabat, Frente Polisario Secretary-General Mohamed Abdel Aziz in Rabbouni, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers and Colonel Ali Ould Mohamed Fall, Chairman of the Mauritanian Military Council in Nouakchott. Mauritania abandoned its claim to the territory in 1979.

Mr. van Walsum listened to the positions of the concerned parties and acknowledged their commitment to a solution of the Western Sahara issue, a UN spokesman said in New York.

In his latest report to the Security Council in August, Mr. Annan said there had been no agreement on what could be done to overcome the deadlock over a peace plan proposed in 2003, which envisaged a period of transition during which there would be a division of responsibilities between Morocco and the POLISARIO before holding a referendum.

The 14-year-old UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has been monitoring a ceasefire between the two sides and seeking to organize a vote.