Moscow, October 07, 2022 (SPS) - The Russian Foreign Ministry revealed about a meeting, on Friday in Moscow, between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura, to discuss developments in the Western Sahara issue.
In a tweet on her Twitter account, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will receive in the Russian capital, Moscow, the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman indicated that the two sides will discuss the current situation and the possibility of reaching a just solution to the Western Sahara issue, on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions.
De Mistura's meeting with the head of Russian diplomacy, whose country is a permanent member of the Security Council, and is a member of the "Group of Friends of Western Sahara in the Security Council", comes within the framework of a series of meetings and consultations held by the UN envoy to Western Sahara since his appointment, with a number of international officials to discuss developments of the Western Sahara issue and the prospects for resuming the political process led by the United Nations with the aim of completing the decolonization of Western Sahara as the last colony on the African continent.
The tour of de Mistura is also taking place before the meetings of the UN Security Council this October to discuss developments in the Western Sahara issue, including a meeting to renew the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
It is expected that the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Western Sahara, de Mistura, will submit a report on the developments of the conflict in Western Sahara in light of the Moroccan occupation's continued rebellion against international legitimacy and all international efforts to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara.
The Russian position on the conflict in Western Sahara was previously expressed by Minister Lavrov, who stressed the need to settle the conflict in Western Sahara by resorting to the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and organizing a referendum to enable the Saharawi people to decide their own destiny.
In press statements, Lavrov had stated that the settlement of the conflict in Western Sahara "must be carried out in accordance with United Nations resolutions that called for the necessity of direct negotiations between the Polisario Front and Morocco."
After renewing his country's continued support for the stability of the situation in West Africa, Lavrov “regretted the absence of any development in the situation at the present time, especially in Western Sahara.”
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