In an interview with the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations website, Morteza Makki said: “The French government’s change of position regarding the crisis in the Western Sahara region is one of the latest changes in the alignment of regional and trans-regional actors. On the 25th anniversary of the reign of Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, the President of France announced that he supported the country’s position regarding the Western Sahara region.

He added, “Morocco has supported the idea of ​​granting autonomy to the Western Sahara region to end this country’s five-decade crisis. Maghreb and Algeria are two former French colonies that had profound differences over the sovereignty of the Western Sahara region after independence from France. Mauritania was another African country that claimed part of the sovereignty of the Western Sahara region. Still, in 1979, this country reached an agreement with the Polisario Front as an independence movement in the Western Sahara region.

According to this expert, the Western Sahara region is a former Spanish colony. In 1973, the Polisario Front started its campaign to expel the Spaniards from this area, and in 1975, Spain left this region. Makki, pointing out that the Maghreb claims sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, continued: “On the other hand, Algeria wants to hold a referendum by the population of half a million people in the region about the fate of the Western Sahara region.” However, the two countries have not been able to reach a comprehensive solution to handle the crisis in the Western Sahara in the last five decades.

He emphasized: “Of course, the role of trans-regional actors in determining the fate of the Western Sahara region should not be ignored; France and the United States are two trans-regional actors who play a serious role in creating a crisis in the Western Sahara region. The United States announced that it supports the country’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara under the condition that Morocco recognizes the Israeli regime.

The expert on European issues also said about Paris’s approach: “France tries to continue to play an active role in the political processes of the North African region. For this reason, this country’s position towards the Western Sahara region can probably have a significant effect on the political processes and negotiations between regional and trans-regional actors.

Makki further explained that this is why the Algerian government had a strong reaction to the announcement of France’s support for the Maghreb’s position regarding the autonomy of the Western Sahara region and called its ambassador to France. Also, with the change in France’s position regarding the fate of the Western Sahara region, the alignment of the countries playing a role in one of the longest crises in the North African region will change.

He explained: “Currently, America, France, and several European countries support Maghreb’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara. At the same time, most African countries, even the African Union, support Algeria’s position to hold a referendum aimed at determining the fate of the Western Sahara by the residents of this region.

Makki believes that changing France’s position on the fate of Western Sahara will not help to solve the crisis in this region but will make it more complicated and prolonged. “France is trying to use the issue of the Western Sahara as a tool to gain concessions from the Maghreb and Algeria and to put pressure on the Algerian government.”

While emphasizing the profound impact of the differences between Algeria and the Maghreb over the Western Sahara region in the foreign policy approaches of these two countries, the expert on European issues explained:

“Morocco has tried to take maximal advantage of this situation by gaining the support of Western governments for its position towards the Western Sahara region. On the other hand, Maghreb, by recognizing Israel’s regime, has been included in the camp of Arab compromise countries that have close political, economic, and even security relations with Tel Aviv.

He added: “But Algeria is trying to support the stance of  Palestine in international organizations and has always been in the ranks of the countries that support Palestine.

Makki said that the change in the French government’s position towards the Western Sahara region will deepen and widen the differences between Algeria and Paris while expanding the political, economic, and security cooperation between France and the Maghreb.