Sahara issue: autonomy project 'new element'
Morocco's proposal to grant substantial autonomy to its southern provinces -the Sahara- is a "new element", said, here Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister.
Speaking at the question time of Spain's Congress of deputies, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero stressed the need to reach "agreement between the parties," deeming it the "only solution" to settle the 30-year-old dispute over the Sahara, triggered by the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists that lay claims to controlling the Moroccan territory.
In the joint declaration issued at the end of the 8th session of the Moroccan Spanish High Level meeting, held in Rabat on March 5-6, Spain welcomed with interest the autonomy proposal, deeming that it would create a new dynamism of dialogue to overcome the current stalemate and contribute to settling this dispute.
Spain's head of government said that Morocco "will present a plan that would settle this dispute," underlining that "reaching an agreement between the parties is the only solution" and Spain will play a "constructive role" in this respect.
Source: MAP
