Algiers (AFP) - Algeria called for the resumption of "direct negotiations" between Morocco and the Polisario Front to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara, during a meeting between the UN envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura and Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Monday in Algiers, according to a statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry.

"The two sides discussed the latest political developments related to the Sahrawi issue and prospects for strengthening international efforts to resume direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, with the aim of reaching a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution," the statement said.

The statement added that the desired solution must ensure that the Saharawi people are able to exercise their inalienable or imprescriptible right to self-determination, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and its doctrine in the field of decolonization.

On Sunday, the UN envoy to Western Sahara met Polisario leader Ibrahim Ghali "in a closed session" in a Sahrawi refugee camp in Tindouf, southwestern Algeria, as part of his second tour in the region.
On Saturday, de Mistura met Polisario's representative to the United Nations, Ammar Sidi Mohamed, and the head of the Polisario's negotiating delegation, Khitri Adoh.

After the meeting, Sidi Mohamed affirmed that the Polisario Front "is committed to peace, but is also committed to defending, by all legitimate means, the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence."

"The Polisario Front is ready to cooperate with the United Nations and the Personal Envoy in their efforts to reach a peaceful, just and lasting solution based on full respect for the inalienable and non-negotiable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence," he added.

Since his appointment in November 2021, de Mistura conducted his first tour of the region in January when he visited Rabat, Mauritania, Algeria and Tindouf.

At the beginning of July, de Mistura went to Rabat to meet with Moroccan officials but gave up visiting Western Sahara, hoping to be able to do so at a later date.

Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony that the United Nations considers a "non-self-governing territory" and has been a bone of contention between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front for decades.

And Rabat, which controls nearly 80% of this region, proposes an autonomy plan under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum for self-determination under the auspices of the United Nations.

Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in August 2021 due to deep differences over Western Sahara and the security rapprochement between Rabat and Israel.