Spain practicing 'constructive diplomacy' to settle Sahara issue, Zapatero
Morocco-Spain, Politics, 7/27/2004

Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Zapatero, said his country is practicing a "constructive diplomacy" to settle the Sahara issue.

In an interview published Sunday by the newspaper ABC, the Spanish premier said this diplomacy is aimed at reaching a final agreement that is accepted by all parties.

"This agreement will not be useful unless it is accepted by all parties," he stressed.

The three-decade long dispute over the Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is opposing Morocco to the Algeria-backed separatist movement "Polisario" which is claiming the secession of this territory from Morocco.

Early this month, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos warned, in an interview with Spanish daily "El Mundo," that the holding of a referendum in the Sahara, without a political solution might trigger what he described as a "generalized crisis" in North Africa, and urged all parties to find a political solution that guarantees their respective rights as part of the United nations.

He added that his country's policy regarding the Sahara issue would change from " neutral and somehow hypocrite" - pursued by the previous Spanish Governments- to an "active commitment" that would help find a "final solution" to this dispute.

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