The United States has told Morocco that Biden will not return to Trump’s decision on the Western Sahara

Foreign Minister Tony Blinkan told Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Borita on Friday that the Biden administration would not reflect on President Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, at least for now. .

Why it matters: Trump’s recognition of Western Sahara As part of Morocco, it changed decades of US policy on the disputed area and is part of a broader agreement that includes renewing diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel.

• The US decision last December The long-awaited diplomatic breakthrough for Morocco. The kingdom was concerned about the possibility of Biden stepping down as soon as he took office.
• Israel also expressed concern that the policy change would affect the normalization process with Morocco.
• The United States was the only Western country to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco in 1975 after former colonial power Spain gave it control.

Background: During the first three months of the new government, there was no contact between the Biden government and the Moroccan government.

• Ten days ago, Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McCurk spoke with Purita, giving the impression that there would be no change in US policy on Western Sahara, a source familiar with the call said.
• The State Department read out Blingen’s invitation to Burrita on Friday, not to mention Western Sahara, but two sources familiar with the call confirmed that it had been discussed and that the Biden government did not currently reflect Trump’s policies.
• According to the State Department, Blinkan welcomed Morocco ‘s efforts to improve relations with Israel, and indicated that the Moroccan-Israeli relationship would bring long – term benefits to both countries.

Playing status: Senior officials from the White House and the State Department have held several discussions on the issue in recent weeks.

• The outcome of these discussions was not to change Trump’s policies, but rather to appoint a new UN ambassador to the Western Sahara, along with Morocco, to try to address the issue of autonomy for the less populated region, according to two well-known sources. With those discussions.
• The State Department referred to Axios in an official statement and did not deny the content of the story.