Sahara question should be solved in respect of Morocco's sovereignty, Sudanese diplomat

The only "fair and just" solution to the Sahara dispute should be reached "in the respect of Morocco's sovereignty," said Sudan's ambassador in Rabat, Ahmed Mekki Yahya.

In an interview with Moroccan weekly "La Gazette du Maroc," the Sudanese diplomat called for the respect of Morocco's sovereignty in any settlement of the Sahara problem, insisting that this is the only "fair and just solution" to the three-decade long dispute between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists.

The Polisario is claiming the separation of the Moroccan southern provinces, a territory formerly occupied by Spain and retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under Madrid accords.

On Moroccan-Sudanese cooperation, Yahya described it as "fruitful," saying relations between the two countries are strengthened by a strong political will from the two sides.

The Sudanese ambassador highlighted the importance of cooperation agreements in the consolidation of bilateral cooperation, urging for the intensification of contacts between Moroccan and Sudanese decision-makers.

Evoking the situation in Darfur, Yahya underlined the Sudanese government's efforts in favor of peace. These efforts, he said, will result in the signing of a "historic peace accord with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Sudan," after marathon talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha to end Africa's longest-running conflict.

Yahya denied the existence of a "conflict on power between the government and Darfur." He blamed the dispute between the two sides on "problems that accumulated since the independence of Sudan in 1956, notably the weakness of the government's financial means that prevented it from "addressing many problems in several regions of the country."