UNITED NATIONS, United States, (MILLAT ONLINE/APP/AFP): UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is proposing a new diplomatic push to end the decades-old dispute over Western Sahara, possibly by holding a referendum on Morocco’s rule over the territory, according to a confidential report obtained by AFP on Monday.
Guterres said in the report to the United Nations Security Council
that he wanted “a new dynamic” and a “new spirit” in negotiations on ending one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
“I intend to propose that the negotiating process be relaunched with
a new dynamic and a new spirit that reflect the council’s guidance,” the UN chief said in the report sent to the council on Monday.
The negotiations would have “the aim of reaching a mutually
acceptable political solution that includes resolution of the dispute over the ultimate status of Western Sahara, including through agreement on the nature and form of the exercise of self-determination,” he added.