The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs removed the line separating Western Sahara and Morocco in the approved official map, following Madrid changed its official position and announced its support for the autonomy proposal submitted by Rabat to resolve the dispute over the Sahara.
On the map published on the ministerial website, the dividing line between Morocco and what Rabat calls the “southern provinces of the kingdom” has disappeared, the territories that the Polisario Front claims to secede from Morocco.
newspaper said “MillionsThe Spanish change in the map represents not only the support of Pedro Sanchez’s government for the “autonomous” proposal, but also presumes Moroccan sovereignty over the territory.
The newspaper pointed out that Spain is doing the same thing that the former US ambassador in Rabat, David Fisher, took when he stood to take pictures in front of a map at the US embassy that showed a map of Morocco without the dividing line.
On March 18, Spain publicly declared its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara, considering it currently “the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the conflict.”
Spain joined the United States, France and Germany, which consider the Moroccan proposal “serious and credible”, as well as the European Union, which has important economic agreements with Morocco.
The Spanish government, which was criticized by various parties in Spain, as well as Algeria, the main supporter of the Polisario Front, confirmed that it had not changed its position but had only taken an “extra step” in order to contribute to a solution to the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held talks in Rabat on Thursday with King Mohammed VI to confirm reconciliation between the two countries.
Western Sahara is a vast desert area rich in phosphates and enjoying a great wealth of fish. Rabat has been contesting it with the Algerian-backed Polisario Front since the Spanish withdrew from it in 1975.