As the United Nations Mission in the Sahara winds down after 35 years, its head, Russian diplomat Alexander Ivanko, has held talks in Rabat while leaving the Polisario Front out of the process entirely.
On Monday, November 2, Ivanko briefed some MINURSO staff in Laayoune on the departure arrangements.
The following day he traveled to Rabat to discuss the withdrawal timetable with Moroccan officials, according to reports from RFI.
No meeting with Polisario representatives took place or is planned.
The practical task is substantial. Around 160 military observers and 180 civilian staff must be repatriated, 13 facilities closed, equipment handed over, and contracts terminated.
Nearly all operations occur on territory administered by Morocco, including the Laayoune headquarters provided free of charge by Rabat since 1991.
Coordination with Moroccan authorities is therefore the logical and necessary step.
The Polisario, which had loudly demanded that MINURSO be maintained “as created in 1991” and welcomed Russia’s veto of the US draft resolution, finds itself excluded from decisions on the mission’s dismantling.
Ivanko, who has led MINURSO since 2021 after serving as its chief of staff for 12 years, is thoroughly familiar with the file.
He understands that Morocco administers the territory and provides the infrastructure, while real decisions affecting the Polisario are made in Algiers, which hosts, funds, and arms the movement and speaks for it in international forums.
This approach mirrors Moscow’s own position. In its November 1 statement following the veto, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova referred only to “the parties directly interested, including Morocco and Algeria,” and confirmed close contacts with Algerian and Moroccan partners.
The Polisario was not mentioned once. Resolution 2797 of October 2025 had already invited Algeria by name to the negotiating table.
