UN Envoy De Mistura invites representatives of parties to Sahara conflict to bilateral consultations

The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, has invited the representatives in New York of Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Polisario “to informal bilateral consultations with him,” ahead of his upcoming briefing to the Security Council due next month.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Mr. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General during his daily briefing.

The members of the Group of Friends of Sahara (France, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States) have also been invited to these informal bilateral consultations.

In his invitation letters for this week’s meetings, De Mistura said “he remained hopeful that a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution (…) in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions was achievable.”

He also explained that the purpose of the informal bilateral consultations “would be to discuss lessons learned in the political process; to deepen the examination of the positions; and to continue seeking mutually agreeable formulas to advance the political process.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. They discussed “efforts to foster stability in the region, including support for UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura in advancing an enduring and dignified political solution to the Sahara conflict,” said the State Department in a press release.