The American administration sent Joshua Harris, the Deputy Secretary of State for the Middle East, to Algeria on Thursday, December 7. With the aim of relaunching discussions about Western Sahara and moving away from the status quo. According to the Secretary of State, the American diplomat will then go to Rabat with the aim of finding “ a lasting and honorable solution without further delay » to this conflict.
1 min
Alger, unwavering support of the Sahrawis of the Polisario Front, receives the American diplomat for the second time in less than three months: Joshua Harris went there last September. He also visited the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, and met the leaders of the Polisario there, in addition to Algerian officials.
Washington seems to want to increase efforts after the war in Gaza to defend the Abraham Accords. As part of these, Morocco had normalized its relations with Israel after the recognition of the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara by the United States of former President Donald Trump. But since last October, this normalization has almost frozen.
“ I think the United States wants to show that, despite what is happening in the Middle East, it has not looked away from the Maghrebexplains Khadija Mohsen Finan, political scientist specializing in the Maghreb. They also learned a lesson from what is happening in the Middle East and the consequences of an unresolved conflict. sThis visit has meaning: it shows that despite the Abraham Accords signed in 2020, the United States is returning to the United Nations and putting this back on the table, without renouncing these agreements. »
According to several observers, the American administration is absolutely seeking to deal with several international issues in order to make progress. This before the US presidential election scheduled for 2024, in which current President Joe Biden is a candidate, just like his rival Donald Trump.