Asharq Al-Awsat: Sahara issue: Morocco attached to dialogue for political settlement, FM

Morocco reaffirms attachment to dialogue as a way out to the Sahara issue, said minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohammed Benaissa, insisting that any solution must cater for the kingdom's sovereignty over its southern provinces and territorial integrity.

Benaissa who was interviewed by Saudi daily "Asharq Al-Awsat" in New York where he is participating in the UN General Assembly, said "This position has not changed. We have rejected the Baker Plan because of the underlying dangers and threats of instability in Morocco and the whole region."

Even the United States, which supported the plan a the beginning, changed its mind after taking cognizance of the reactions of the Security Council members and the Moroccan people.

The Moroccan official said following King Mohammed VI's latest meeting with President Bush (last month in New York), the US administration has made it clear that it does not seek to impose a solution on Morocco, which means, he went on, that Washington upholds dialogue and negotiations with parties for a peaceful settlement.

He further explained that the crushing majority of the UN Security Council member states refused to adopt the US-proposed resolution that would impose a solution, as a serious precedent and a contradiction of article 6 of the UN charter which assigns to the world body a facilitator role and does not entitle it to impose a settlement.

Morocco is currently discussing with the Security Council means to reach a new formula that takes into account facts, said Benaissa before recalling the Polisario only represents a minority of the Sahara populations. He also argued that the international community should listen to the opinion of the majority of this population and, then, it will find out how the majority wants to be part of Morocco.