Sanchez says Spain supports ‘mutually acceptable’ solution to Western Sahara

OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in his speech to the UN General Assembly that Spain supports a “mutually acceptable political solution” to the Western Sahara conflict.

Despite Spain radically shifting its position earlier this year to support Morocco’s stance on the issue, the prime minister’s language at the UN was nearly identical to speeches from previous years.

On Thursday, Sanchez said he supported the work of the UN around the issue and highlighted that Spain is the principal international donor of humanitarian assistance to this conflict.

His comments on Western Sahara stand in stark contrast to those delivered by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to the UN earlier this week.

“The solution should be based on the Moroccan initiative for self-determination as the sole solution for this conflict while respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the kingdom [of Morocco],” he said.

In a letter to the Moroccan king in March, Sanchez said the Moroccan initiative was “the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution” of the ongoing regional conflict.

The diplomatic shift broke decades of Spanish neutrality on Western Sahara’s autonomy.

Madrid’s turnaround outraged Algeria, which, until that time, was Spain’s top energy supplier.

In June, Algeria suspended a 20-year friendship treaty with Spain and briefly restricted trade.

Amid the tensions, Spain’s energy imports from Algeria have plummeted by 40% this year.

Western Sahara is an area along Africa’s Atlantic coast that has a population of about 600,000 residents, according to UN estimates. It was colonized by Spain in the 19th century, and 85% of the region has been under the control of Morocco since 1975.

With Algeria supporting self-determination and Morocco proposing autonomy for Western Sahara, ties between both countries have been tense for years. Algeria cut its diplomatic relations with Morocco last August.

The pro-independence Polisario Front demands that a popular referendum be held in Western Sahara to decide the region’s political fate — a proposal backed by Algeria.