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Russia: US President position on Western Sahara undermines international legal basis of Western Sahara settlement, threatens regional stability

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Moscow, 12 December 2020 (SPS) - The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the position of U.S. President D. Trump on Western Sahara, considering it threatening regional stability and undermining the generally recognized international legal basis of the Western Sahara settlement, in a statement today, Saturday.  
“We note that in fact in conjunction with this event (American-brokered agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Israel to normalize relations) Washington has taken yet another unilateral step that threatens regional stability. We are talking about U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara and the intention to open an American consulate there,” said the statement.
“With this decision, the Trump administration undermined the generally recognized international legal basis of the Western Sahara Settlement (WSS), which provides for the determination of the final status of the territory through a referendum. This new U.S. position could seriously impede UN efforts to promote the SCA, aggravate relations between the parties directly involved, and provoke a new round of armed violence in the Sahara-Sahel zone,” added the statement.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed that the principled position of Russia on the Western Sahara issue is unchanged, stressing that its long-term and just solution is possible only on the basis of the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions within the framework of procedures that comply with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
It further stressed that the way to this lies in the resumption of direct talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front under UN mediation, expressing conviction that the parties involved in the SCA are capable of working out solutions that would be in the interest of regional security and stability.
It finally emphasized that eliminating this source of tension would help to unblock integration projects in the Maghreb and establish effective collective cooperation in combating common security challenges, above all terrorism and transborder crime. (SPS)
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