Russia–Africa Forum: Moscow refuses again Polisario’s participation, dealing another blow to Algerian Regime

Moscow has excluded the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists from participating in the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, dealing another humiliating blow to the ruling Algerian junta.

Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita is representing the Kingdom in the two-day event which opened Saturday in the city of Sochi. The conference is attended by government and business leaders from Russia and Africa. Participants are exploring cooperation in security, economy, industry, energy, skills development, IT, healthcare…

Despite Algeria’s lobbying and pressure, Moscow refused to let the Polisario take part in the conference, exacerbating the cracks appearing in relations between Algiers and Moscow. The rift was seen during the latest UN Security Council vote on resolution 2756 (2024) drafted by Washington on the Sahara. Russia abstained but did not veto the resolution as expected by the Algerian regime. The resolution, adopted with a landslide majority extended for another year the mandate of MINURSO.

In September, Beijing also refused the participation of the Polisario in the China-Africa cooperation forum. The United States, Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Indonesia and Turkey have all excluded the Polisario from their summits with African countries.

The exclusion of Polisario from these high-profile international events confirms the failure of the Algerian-backed separatist project, deepening the international isolation of the Algerian rulers and their Polisario puppets which have become persona non-grata worldwide.