It's high time Sahara problem was resolved, Spanish FM

It's time to try to settle the Sahara issue, said Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, stressing that his country has a part to play in this context.

"Countries like Spain have the responsibility and the duty to help parties reach a solution within the framework of the United Nations Organization," said Moratinos, who is taking part in the Moroccan northern Atlantic city of Assilah in a conference on "the enlarged European Union and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation."

The head of the Spanish diplomacy further argued in an interview with Moroccan TV channel "2M" that "in any diplomatic mediation, parties need to be encouraged to find a political agreement."

Moratinos, whose country had occupied the Moroccan southern provinces, known as the Sahara, until 1975, when Morocco retrieved it under a tripartite agreement with Spain and Mauritania, had underlined end of last month in an article published by the Spanish daily "ABC" "we have to concede, as thirty years of recent history have evidenced, that a solution, with winners and losers, cannot be imposed.

He had also stressed that the new Spanish Socialist government, which took office last April, has decided to change gear from a "passive neutrality policy" to an "active policy" in order to stimulate dialogue between all parties and concerned countries," by means of an intensive diplomatic activity.

Spanish premier, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, had told the same paper that his government is conducting "a constructive diplomacy" to reach a final solution (to the Sahara issue) that is acceptable by all parties.