Albania withdraws recognition of puppet Sahrawi republic

Albania has decided to withdraw its recognition of the self-proclaimed "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" (SADR), officials sources announced Tuesday in Tirana.

Albania has been so far the only European country to recognize the whimsical republic, set up by the separatists of the Polisario, an Algeria-backed movement that claims the separation of Moroccan southern provinces, known as the Sahara, from the rest of Morocco. The former Spanish colony was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords signed with Mauritania and Spain.

Last month, the Government of Serbia-Montenegro (former Yugoslavia) also withdrew its recognition of the entity hosted by Algeria in the southwestern city of Tinduf, and expressed "total support" to Morocco's territorial integrity. The authorities of Serbia-Montenegro had also stressed that the decision made in 1984 by the government of former Yugoslavia was contrary to the United Nations charter and principles.

Several countries, including India and others from Africa and Latin America, reconsidered their positions and withdrew their recognition of the puppet state.