Madrid, 6 July 2025 (SPS) - The American diplomat and former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, reiterated that the only solution to the Sahrawi issue is to organize a self-determination referendum, holding the Moroccan occupation responsible for obstructing this internationally agreed-upon path since 1991.
In an interview published today by the Spanish news site "El Independiente," Bolton said, "It is surprising that Morocco has been stalling for 25 years on organizing a self-determination referendum, at a time when it would have been easy to conduct (...)," emphasizing that it was not a "big task" (to conduct the referendum).
After reviewing the agreement process for the self-determination referendum and his active participation in drafting the 1991 Security Council resolution that established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and laid the groundwork for the referendum process, Bolton noted that in 1997, then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed James Baker as his personal envoy to Western Sahara, because Morocco had obstructed the referendum, despite renewing its commitment to conduct it in the 1997 Houston Agreements.
The former American diplomat stressed that the only way to resolve the Sahrawi issue is to conduct a self-determination referendum, and that "the Sahrawis who are still in refugee camps deserve to return to their homes, and no one disputes that (...)," asserting that the right time to organize the self-determination referendum is "when Morocco cooperates."
Bolton pointed out that he spoke with several UN envoys to Western Sahara, and they all secretly said the same thing: "Morocco is not ready to risk losing the referendum," expressing regret over the situation, as it "shows the true weakness of the United Nations, which issues a simple and easily executable resolution that everyone agrees on, then one party changes its mind, and the whole thing collapses."
He reiterated that Morocco has been obstructing the organization of the self-determination referendum from the beginning, even though it agreed to it.
The speaker also addressed the U.S. administration's stance on the conflict and Morocco's normalization with the Zionist entity in exchange for recognizing its alleged "sovereignty" over Western Sahara, as well as Morocco's colonial ambitions in the region.
Regarding Madrid's stance on the Sahrawi issue, which supports the Moroccan occupation's narrative, Bolton confirmed that this "does not help" in resolving the conflict, "because everyone committed to conducting a referendum, but Morocco backtracked," adding, "The victims are the Sahrawis who are still living in refugee camps."
Finally, while discussing the disinformation campaigns promoted by Morocco and some of its allies to distort the image of the Polisario Front by linking it to terrorism and extremist groups, the former National Security Advisor emphasized that this is "not true" and is "just slander and propaganda."
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