Algiers, 18 November 2025 (SPS) – Algeria’s Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Attaf, affirmed that the latest UN Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025) has preserved the fundamental principles for resolving the question of Western Sahara.
During a press conference held at the headquarters of his ministry in Algiers, Attaf indicated that “the resolution adopted by the Security Council has preserved, in its substance, all constants related to resolving the Western Sahara issue, without touching any of its interconnected and complementary components.”
Alongside preserving the principles of a just, lasting, and final solution to the Western Sahara conflict, the Algerian Foreign Minister added that Resolution 2797 “has achieved major gains that enable the Polisario Front to defend its position from a strong stance rooted firmly in international legality.”
The first of these gains, according to Attaf, is “the renewal of MINURSO’s mandate for one year, in accordance with operative paragraph 1 of the resolution.” He emphasized that this mission is entrusted with organizing the self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, as clearly reflected in its name.
The second gain, he continued, is ending the exclusive character attributed to the Moroccan proposal known as “autonomy,” which some wanted to impose as the sole basis for negotiations. The resolution’s operative paragraph 3 opens wide the door for the Polisario Front to present its visions and proposals in the negotiation process.
The third gain lies in “avoiding any prior determination of the nature or outcome of the negotiations, leaving this entirely to the agreement between the two parties to the conflict—the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front—as stipulated in operative paragraph 3 of the resolution.”
In this context, the Algerian Foreign Minister clarified that the Security Council “did not determine the basis of the negotiations nor their outcome, leaving the definition and agreement entirely to the two parties—the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front.” He stressed again that the adopted resolution preserved all constants of the Western Sahara solution without altering any component.
According to Attaf, these constants are explicitly stated in the resolution’s text and relate to the political settlement process, which remains under the supervision of the United Nations and cannot depart from this UN framework—as indicated in the majority of its preambular and operative paragraphs.
The resolution also reaffirmed the necessity of direct negotiations between the two parties—the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front—as emphasized in many of its paragraphs, especially operative paragraph 3. It further stressed the need for both parties to agree on the final format of the solution, as highlighted repeatedly in the resolution.
The fourth principle preserved by the resolution, Attaf added, is “the necessity that the final solution enables the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination,” as explicitly stated in two paragraphs: preambular paragraph 3 and operative paragraph 3.
This period, the minister noted, was accompanied by a propaganda campaign “not unfamiliar to the Western Sahara file.” Those who follow the issue closely understand very well that claims about the “file being closed or settled” are not new, but rather a recurring discourse whenever the case is brought before international forums, especially the Security Council.
The Algerian Foreign Minister emphasized that “Algeria will not hesitate to support any mediation initiative between the two parties to the conflict, provided it falls within the UN framework and adheres—in form and substance—to the constants of a just, lasting, and final solution as outlined in all relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2797.”
Attaf stressed that Algeria’s commitment to contributing to resolving the Western Sahara conflict is closely tied to its commitment to the security and stability of its neighborhood, based on the country’s firm belief that its own security and stability are inseparable from those of its surroundings and the broader regional environment.
In the same context, he underlined that “Algeria has never viewed its security and stability from a unilateral, isolationist, or selfish perspective. On the contrary, its vision is comprehensive and includes all its brothers, particularly in the Sahel-Sahara region.”
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