Vitaly Naumkin writes: Economic considerations will play a huge role in the future development of Russia’s role in the Western Sahara. Morocco has already invested enormous resources in the part of Western Sahara it controls, and Western Sahara’s mineral reserves are of crucial importance for the Moroccan economy. It is worth mentioning that Western Sahara already produces about 2.4 million tons of phosphates annually.
One would expect that the dramatic events taking place in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Libya and now in Yemen would monopolize the attention of Russian politicians and diplomats involved in the Arab East. However, this has not been the case. Among the old yet unsolved and “dormant” conflicts in the region is that of Western Sahara.
Recently a delegation of the Polisario Front (Western Sahara) visited Moscow. The delegation was headed by a member of Polisario’s Secretariat and by M’hamed Khaddad, Although the visit was not official — the delegation arrived in Moscow at the invitation of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences — it was received by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as well as by members of the Council of the Federation, the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly. It also held a meeting with a group of Russian experts on the region.
The visit is yet another sign that Russia seeks to play a more active and independent role in the region. It also stands as further evidence — as manifested in recent years — of the ability of Russian diplomacy to take atypical steps to lay the groundwork for solutions that fit Russia’s interests to the greatest extent possible, and to expand contacts with political forces of different orientations. Contrary to its former, more cautious style of diplomacy, illiant diplomat and expert on the Arab world — in leading Russian foreign policy there. Even those who disagree with Russia’s foreign policy hold him in high esteem.
Moscow needs to heed the position of such an important Arab partner today as Egypt. The counterterrorism cooperation between Algeria and Egypt over the Libyan crisis has not only fostered distrust on the part of Morocco, but also led to a brief information war between the latter and Egypt.
During his stay in Russia, at a Feb. 27 press conference at the international news agency Russia Today, Khaddad declared, “Russia can do much for the stability of the North African region. We hope and expect the help of the Russian Federation in maintaining regional peace and stability.” The Western Saharan politician also stressed, “Some countries, such as France, while speaking of their commitment to human rights, on the other hand … hindered the search for a solution.”
In Russian juridical circles it has been suggested that while Western Sahara has not been recognized as a state by the international community at large, a number of UN Security Council resolutions contain ad hoc recognition of Western Sahara and Polisario (that is, recognition for a specific purpose).
Russian experts do not rule out that the situation in Western Sahara may worsen, given the belligerent statements by Sahrawi Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ould Salek.
