Morocco’s ambassador to Russia, Lotfi Bouchaâra, and the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergey Vershinin, had a meeting in Moscow on the settlement of the Sahara issue, as part of the continuation of the Moroccan offensive on the issue. With the intensification of discussions, Morocco hopes to convince Russia, which has always displayed a favourable position towards Algeria on the Sahara issue.
Since 2011, all but one of the Security Council’s resolutions have welcomed « Morocco’s serious and credible efforts to advance the process towards a resolution. However, the UN Security Council resolutions have not yet taken a final decision on the Sahara. The most recent UN Security Council resolution, 2548, urges « the parties and neighbouring states » to engage productively in its political process to find a « realistic, agreed and mutually acceptable solution to end the conflict in Western Sahara ».
The Cherifian kingdom exported around 4 billion dirhams to Russia in 2019, while Algeria exported only 75.2 million dirhams, mainly fruit and vegetables. Morocco also relies on Russia to import coal. In December 2020, Morocco passed a bill allowing Russia to operate in the Moroccan exclusive economic zone (EEZ), allowing it to continue its fishing operations, including off Morocco’s Saharan coast.
Algeria also exports tropical fruits to Russia and receives mainly explosives and weapons.
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