NEW YORK — Massad Boulos, senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on Arab and African Affairs, said that there is currently no imminent solution to the conflict over Western Sahara, stressing that Washington continues its contacts with the Polisario Front while awaiting its comments on the Moroccan proposal.
In an interview with France 24 on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Boulos explained that three rounds of talks, involving representatives of the Polisario Front, Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, have so far failed to produce a final settlement.
The U.S. official said that “there is currently no imminent solution that we can feel is close or tangible,” noting that “a lot remains to be done” and that the U.S. side continues to “engage and communicate with the Polisario Front.”
Regarding the U.S. approach, Boulos confirmed that Washington is proceeding from the Moroccan proposal, in line with the position previously expressed by the U.S. administration, while the Polisario Front continues to put forward its vision for a solution based on the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, respect for international law and United Nations resolutions calling for a referendum on self-determination.
In this context, Boulos said that Algeria has provided, in his words, “a great deal of assistance” to the ongoing process, adding that Algeria cannot impose a solution on the Sahrawis by force, but can, he said, encourage the parties to engage in the political process.
The U.S. official’s remarks come following a series of diplomatic meetings and contacts he held in New York, including meetings with Algerian Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the National Community Abroad and African Affairs Ahmed Attaf, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
He also held contacts with UN officials regarding the settlement process.
Earlier this month, following his meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, Boulos stressed the need to advance toward “a lasting and mutually acceptable solution” to the Western Sahara conflict, within the framework set out by Security Council Resolution 2797.
These developments come as discussions in the United Nations Security Council on the Western Sahara issue approach, along with the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), whose current mandate expires on 31 October 2026.
For its part, the Polisario Front reiterated, in an official position issued by its National Secretariat in September, that any solution to the conflict must guarantee the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence, and rejected solutions that do not meet this right.
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