Spanish FM : difficult to conciliate stances of parties to Sahara issue

Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, currently on a visit to Algeria said this Wednesday stances of the parties directly involved in the Sahara issue are difficult to conciliate.

The head of the Spanish diplomacy made the statement following a meeting with Algerian peer, Abdelaziz Belkhadem.

He told Spanish news agency "EFE" it is necessary to join all the good wills in order to move forward in reaching a settlement to the Sahara issue, a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under an agreement with Spain and Mauritania. The territory is currently the object of claims by the Algeria-backed Polisario which wants to separate the Sahara, Moroccan southern provinces, from the rest of the Kingdom.

After highlighting the efforts made by the former UN secretary general's personal envoy, James Baker, and by his successor Alvaro de Soto, Moratinos stressed that his country will earnestly carry on its efforts till the end.

He added that Spain is committed to peace and stability in the Mediterranean, as it will be highlighted by King Juan Carlos' state visit to Morocco (this January 17-19) and the expected summit meeting next February between Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Spanish premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.