Washinton (United States), Dec 17, 2020 (SPS) - The recognition of the alleged Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara territory, announced recently by outgoing US president Donald Trump may undermine U.S. policy and raise significant problems of stability across the Maghreb, former United States National Security Advisor John Bolton said Tuesday.
"Trump's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty (over Western Sahara) dangerously undermines decades of carefully crafted U.S. policy," John Bolton said in an article published on the specialized American website Foreign Policy.
He stressed that the recognition of the alleged Moroccan sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara was part of the normalization between the kingdom and Israel.
John Bolton, who left his post at the White House in 2018, echoed the arguments of U.S. Republican Senator James Inhofe who said that Moroccans and Israelis "could have made this deal without trading away the rights of this voiceless people."
"The best outcome would be for Biden, once inaugurated, to reverse Trump’s acquiescence to Moroccan sovereignty. This will not be easy, given the expectations—misguided though they are—already built up in Rabat and Jerusalem," Bolton stressed.
"If Biden wants to do a 180-degree turn, he should do so immediately on taking office, which would minimize any damage."
The former head of the National Security Council (NSC) said "in making his rash decision, Trump consulted neither the Frente POLISARIO—which has long represented the Sahrawis—nor Algeria and Mauritania, the most concerned neighboring countries, nor anyone else."
Trump's "casual approach to notching one more ostensible international victory raises significant problems of stability across the Maghreb." SPS
125/090/TRA