The autonomy plan presented by Morocco is a “serious and credible basis” for negotiations aimed at reaching a final political solution to the Sahara issue, said France on Tuesday. The French diplomat said the two roundtable meetings held in Geneva enabled Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario to “agree on the special responsibility of the region and the need to build up trust”. “It is necessary to build on these achievements, and I would like to reiterate that France considers the 2007 Moroccan autonomy plan as a serious and credible basis for negotiations,” Anne Gueguen said. She also recalled France’s “full support” for the work of MINURSO and its head, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative Colin Stewart. She underlined that France is committed to adopting again a twelve-month mandate of the MINURSO, which, she said, “must remain the rule and the six-month mandate the exception.”

Source: The North Africa Journal May 01, 2019 00:45 UTC