No agreement on future of western Sahara

United Nations - The Moroccan government and Polisario Front rebels failed again to resolve their dispute over the future of mineral-rich Western Sahara during a ninth round of informal talks, a UN envoy said on Tuesday.

Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara, which it took over in 1979 when Mauritania pulled out. But the pro-independence Polisario Front insists on the “inalienable right” of the people of the former Spanish colony to self-determination through a referendum on the territory's future.

Christopher Ross, the UN envoy for Western Sahara, said in a statement that during a three-day meeting on Long Island, near New York City, “each party continued to reject the proposal of the other as the sole basis for future negotiations.”

But Ross said both sides reiterated “their willingness to work together to reach a solution” that conforms to UN resolutions.

Ross said the next informal meetings will take place in Europe in June, and in a place to be determined in July. He said he will visit the region starting in mid-May, “including an extensive visit to the Western Sahara territory.” - Sapa-AP