Russia-Africa Summit: Moscow refuses Polisario’s participation, another slap on the face for Algerian regime

The ruling Algerian junta has suffered another major diplomatic setback in St. Petersburg at the 2nd Russia-Africa summit after Moscow, Algeria’s ally, refused the participation of the Polisario, a phantom entity, in the high-profile international gathering.

As they excluded the secessionists from the first Russia-Africa Summit in 2019, Russian authorities have not invited Algeria-backed separatist group to the second summit despite attempts made by the Algerian regime. Moscow stood firm, insisting that only sovereign African states recognized by the United Nations are allowed to participate.

The humiliating decision of Russia comes few days after the visit paid by Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune to Moscow and his meeting with Vladimir Putin. During this trip, Tebboune showered his Russian peer with extolment and eulogy in a bid to gain support against the West but to no avail.

The Algerian rulers, who are stuck in the Cold War era, fail to grasp the global geopolitical changes taking place, leading to a New World Order wherein Morocco is emerging as a new regional power.

Today, Algeria has become more isolated than ever. It is snubbed even by its historical allies who are taking their distance from an oppressive, feckless, and corrupt junta, threatening regional peace and stability.

The Algerian rulers should learn the lesson and understand that their propaganda and deceit are no longer working and the Polisario proxy war game is doomed to failure.

Time has come to expel the Polisario from the African Union as its membership was purchased by the Algerian and Libyan petrodollars during the Cold War era.