Algeria at the Sahara Crossroads

The recent meeting held at the United States Embassy in Madrid, centered on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2797 adopted last October 31 regarding the Moroccan Sahara, was no ordinary diplomatic encounter. Algeria’s presence, represented by its Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, was particularly significant, as it restored matters to their proper context: the dispute over the Sahara is, at its core, a Moroccan-Algerian conflict, while the Polisario Front serves merely as an instrument employed by the Algerian regime to justify a war of attrition waged against Morocco for nearly half a century, ever since Rabat recovered its Saharan provinces following Spain’s withdrawal in November 1975.

Morocco was represented by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita at the meeting, convened under the auspices of Massad Boulos, the U.S. Special Envoy for Africa. Also in attendance were Mauritania’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, a representative of the Polisario, and the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura.

While Algeria has previously participated in discussions related to the Sahara, this was the first time it engaged in deliberations explicitly grounded in Resolution 2797, which identifies Morocco’s autonomy initiative as the sole proposal on the negotiating table.

According to informed sources, Algeria attempted to reintroduce the notion of “self-determination,” overlooking the resolution’s explicit reference to autonomy “within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.” It appears that Algeria, as a regime, would not have entered negotiations concerning autonomy absent American pressure. Those same pressures prompted Morocco to elaborate its autonomy vision in a forty-page document, whereas the original initiative announced by King Mohammed VI in Laayoune in 2007 spanned only three pages and rested upon two pillars: affirmation of Moroccan sovereignty and the establishment of broad decentralization.

The political dimension of Algeria’s participation in Madrid is decisive. Algiers would not have attended had it not concluded that any improvement in relations with Washington required engagement in negotiations based on the Moroccan proposal. Persisting in its reservations regarding Resolution 2797 and continuing to rely on the Polisario would have jeopardized prospects for strengthening ties with the United States, particularly amid deteriorating relations with France and diverging strategic calculations with Russia over Mali.

Furthermore, the United States’ recognition in 2020 of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, subsequently echoed by several European countries, underscored the absence of any viable future for a project aimed at turning the territory into a satellite within Algeria’s sphere of influence. Stability in the Sahel is increasingly understood to be linked to Morocco’s authority over its Saharan provinces, rather than to the latitude afforded to the Polisario within a region plagued by extremist networks and illicit trafficking.

Algeria’s participation in the Madrid meeting thus marks a step toward realism — and perhaps toward liberation from longstanding historical resentments. It is far from a modest gesture. The central question is whether Algeria is prepared to free itself from the illusions of the past, including the aspiration to access the Atlantic without Morocco’s explicit consent.

The Moroccan Sahara enjoys a vast Atlantic coastline, and the deep-water port of Dakhla has become integral to African aspirations for maritime connectivity. Algeria has a genuine opportunity to secure a land corridor to the ocean through Moroccan territory. Such an outcome would require cooperation with Rabat rather than the continuation of diplomatic rupture, border closures since 1994, and restrictions on overflight.

Ultimately, recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara could pave the way for a strategic recalibration in Algiers, away from unproductive posturing and toward constructive engagement.

When will Algeria formally acknowledge the Moroccan character of the Sahara, instead of seeing its foreign minister depart through a side exit to avoid being photographed alongside his Moroccan counterpart?