US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara in a message to King Mohammed VI on the anniversary of the monarch's accession to the throne. The message was published on the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Morocco.
The US position is clear. We recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and we support Morocco's serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution.
Trump added that any alternative to Morocco's autonomy plan would perpetuate the status quo and is 'unacceptable'. He emphasized that the Western Sahara dispute must be brought to an end.
The president described US-Morocco relations as based on 'trust and mutual respect'. He noted that the friendship between the two countries marks its 250th anniversary this year and said a new era prioritizing the interests of both nations' peoples is being built. Trump also stated that the US would work with Morocco to ensure security in the Sahel region.
Decades-long dispute
Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in 1975. This led to tensions between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an independence movement backed by Algeria. The Polisario Front waged an armed struggle until a UN-brokered ceasefire was reached in 1991.
Morocco maintains that Western Sahara should remain under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front insists it is an independent state. Negotiations following the ceasefire have not produced a resolution.
