Christopher Ross received by President Bouteflika

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika received on Monday in Algiers the new UN envoy for Western Sahara Christopher Ross, "said the Algerian agency APS.

•     Mr. Ross was previously received by the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mourad Medelci, APS said without further details.
  
      Mr. Ross had the day before in Tindouf in southwest Algeria, "frank and deep" discussions with the Polisario president Mohamed Abdelaziz, told the press an official of the independence movement.
  
      The Polisario has "reiterated its commitment to United Nations efforts for the decolonization of Western Sahara," said the head of Western Sahara.
  
      On his part, Mr. Ross said he was in Tindouf to "ascertain the position of the Polisario Front and its views on how to implement to make progress in the negotiations which have called on the Council Security for a mutually acceptable solution that supports the right of the Sahraoui people to self-determination."
  
      This meeting took place in the Sahraoui refugee camps in Tindouf, where Polisario is based and where more than 165,000 people live, according to the independence movement.
  
      Mr. Ross arrived Saturday in Tindouf as part of a tour in the region which has already led him to Morocco, aimed at restarting talks between Rabat and the Polisario.
  
      Former Spanish colony with sub-soil rich in phosphates, Western Sahara was annexed in 1975 by Morocco, which offers a wide autonomy under its sovereignty, rejecting any independence.
  
      The Polisario, supported by Algeria, on the other hand requires a referendum for self-determination in which independence would be one of the options.
  
      Before the tour of Mr. Ross, UN officials had stated that it was simply to assess the chances of a resumption of the negotiation process started in Manhasset, near New York in June 2007 between Morocco and the Polisario, under the auspices of the United Nations.
  
      Four rounds of negotiations have already taken place, but not advanced.
  
      
  Ennaharonline/ M. Oudina