Morocco - Polisario negotiations to resume next month

UN sources asserted that the upcoming round of direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario will be held in James Baker Institute for Political Policies in Houston, Texas between October 14 and 16.

The negotiations will deal with the remaining issues of holding the referendum in the western desert and discussing the programs that specify the responsibilities of each side during the transitional period preceding the election.

The sources mentioned that as there has been progress on the issues of deciding the identity of the people of Sahara origin, reducing the forces, and releasing the prisoners, thus the center of the upcoming negotiations will be the issue of the transitional period.

The international mediator James Baker described the negotiations as decisive in reaching an agreement, but he declined to give its details.