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RABAT, Morocco A top US envoy visits the contested Western Sahara, after Washington recognized Morocco’s sovereignty there in exchange for Rabat normalizing ties with Israel.
Western Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco’s control, where tensions with the pro-independence Polisario Front have simmered since the 1970s.
Last year, Morocco joined the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in agreeing to normalize ties with Israel under US-brokered deals.
In return, US President Donald Trump fulfilled a decades-old Moroccan goal by backing its contested sovereignty over the barren but phosphate-rich region, which lies next to rich Atlantic fishing zones.
Algiers, 7 January 2021 (SPS) - Algeria expects from the United States to be "impartial," as required by the current challenges, in order to advance the causes of peace on the regional and international levels, Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum said in an audience he granted Thursday, in Algiers, to the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker.
US delegation in Algeria to discuss Western Sahara file
A Saharawi man holds up a Polisario Front flag near Moroccan soldiers guarding the wall separating the Polisario controlled Western Sahara from Morocco on 3 February 2017 [STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images] January 8, 2021 at 9:31 am
A high-level US delegation arrived in Algeria on Wednesday to discuss bilateral cooperation, the Western Sahara file and the situation in Libya and the Sahel.
The delegation includes Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker, and the Commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, General Jeffrey Harrigian.
US envoy visits Algeria as part of regional tour Thu 07th January 2021 | 09:03 PM
A US envoy visited Algeria on Thursday as part of a regional tour to discuss issues including the Libya conflict and disputed Western Sahara, officials said
Algiers, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jan, 2021 ) :A US envoy visited Algeria on Thursday as part of a regional tour to discuss issues including the Libya conflict and disputed Western Sahara, officials said.
David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, was accompanied by US Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and General Jeffrey Harrigian, the US Air Force commander in Europe and Africa, the US embassy said.