U.S. Reaffirmation of Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Its Sahara, ‘A Relevant Position’— Former UK Minister of State for Defense

London – The reaffirmation by the United States of its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara “is a relevant position,” former UK Minister of State for Defense Andrew Murrison stated.

“The position of President Donald Trump’s administration regarding the Moroccan Sahara is a relevant one,” Murrison, a member of the House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament), told MAP on Wednesday.

Murrison, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Morocco in the Westminster Parliament, also urged his government to follow the lead of the United States and other European countries by adopting a “more pragmatic” stance on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara.

During a meeting on Tuesday in Washington between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the latter “reaffirmed that the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.”

In a statement released by the U.S. Department of State following the meeting, the Secretary reaffirmed that the United States “continues to believe that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.”

In this regard, he emphasized the U.S. President’s “urging for the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as the only framework, to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.”