After the Madrid meeting two weeks ago, new negotiations on the Western Sahara file were held on February 23 and 24 in Washington, co-chaired by Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and US Ambassador Michael Waltz. These meetings constitute a decisive diplomatic test for resolving the conflict in light of the continuing fundamental differences between its parties. A final agreement to end the conflict, according to experts, will still need careful follow-up, taking into account the interests of Morocco and the stability of the region on the one hand and the demands of the Sahrawis on the other hand.

Published on: 02/25/2026 - 15:58

Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Polisario Front met in early February 2026 in the Spanish capital, Madrid, to discuss the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara, in a closed meeting sponsored by the United States. About two weeks later, the United Nations announced that a new meeting on the issue was held in Washington on Monday and Tuesday, three months after a UN Security Council resolution supported the Moroccan plan in the region.

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These endeavors come as part of a series of intense diplomatic efforts to move the stagnant waters in the conflict, which extends for about fifty years, after US President Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara at the end of 2020, before the Kingdom established diplomatic relations with Israel.

Read also: Western Sahara: A new meeting in Washington to discuss the Security Council’s resolution on the autonomy proposal

The discussions have so far focused on the Moroccan autonomy plan, ruling out the option of independence or organizing a referendum for self-determination, which indicates that the negotiations are now revolving around expanding the powers of autonomy within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, as confirmed by Security Council Resolution No. 2797 issued in October 2025.

Intense efforts to accelerate a solution

The acceleration of efforts aims to reach an agreement in the next few months, and also aims to strengthen the image of the United States as a peace broker, support Morocco, its ally in the region, and ensure broader stability in North Africa and the Middle East.

The negotiations are being supervised by Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, along with US Ambassador Michael Waltz, Head of the US Mission to the UN, as co-chair. According to the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, de Mistura chose not to make additional statements to ensure the success of the negotiations, which aim to implement the latest Security Council resolution.

Algeria's acceptance to participate in this round of negotiations, without offering any clear compensation, was considered by observers to be a step forward. While the Polisario Front continued to demand the right to self-determination, it saw expanded autonomy as an insufficient step to meet the "aspirations of the Sahrawi people."

The Moroccan Autonomy Plan... Expanded Version

Contrary to the 2007 plan, which did not exceed three pages, the Spanish magazine Ataliyar revealed that Morocco presented an expanded version of the plan, which includes forty pages divided into nine chapters and forty-two articles. This formulation was prepared by three royal advisors, namely diplomat Tayeb Fassi Fihri, constitutional expert Omar Aziman, and Fouad Ali El Himma, the main advisor to King Mohammed VI, with the aim of achieving a political balance between the Sahara and the rest of the Kingdom’s regions.

According to the newspaper, the plan stipulates the establishment of an autonomous region with a government, parliament, and a regional judicial system. Rabat retains sovereign powers, such as national defense, foreign policy, currency, nationality, and national symbols. The appointment of the head of the regional government by the king is part of this structure to ensure the continued unity of the state, as Morocco believes that the governor must be a representative of the central state, while maintaining the rule of law and applying it in the name of the king.

Expanded autonomy represents an attempt to resolve the conflict without compromising the unity of the state, while recognizing local cultural identity, regulating the return of refugees, and ensuring that natural resources are managed in a transparent and consistent manner with national policies.

Disagreements over powers

For its part, the Polisario Front demands broader powers for the head of the regional executive, according to which he must be elected by the local population, while Morocco insists that the appointment be royal to ensure harmony with the rest of the Kingdom’s regions.

Disagreements have also been raised over the upcoming referendum to establish autonomy, as the Polisario and Algeria demand that voting be limited to the Sahrawi population, while the Moroccan document stipulates the full participation of the Moroccan electoral body. This discrepancy reflects the difficulty of reconciling the ambitions of the different parties, in light of a balance of power tilting in favor of Morocco, supported by the United States.

Natural resources and desert identity

The plan includes provisions for the management of natural resources, including fish resources and phosphates, with clear percentages for their return to the region, under the supervision of the Moroccan Supreme Council of Accounts, to ensure that there is no economic hegemony that might weaken the central state. A strict legal framework is being established for investments and projects, with dual oversight: regional and central.

The identity and refugee issue are among other sensitive points. The plan allocates clear procedures for the return of about 165,000 refugees from the Tindouf camps, stipulating disarmament and abandoning the demand for independence, with the possibility of amnesty for some violators, with the exception of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The plan also recognizes the Hassani identity, with the establishment of a special institute to promote the local language and culture, while integrating it into the Moroccan national identity, without granting the right of secession.

According to Khadija Mohsen Fanan, a specialist in political science and a researcher at the SIRICE Laboratory, “The Polisario’s acceptance to sit at the negotiating table reflects an awareness of the necessity of searching for a settlement, based on the demand for the greatest possible gains, even though the minimum required is recognition of its identity and a guarantee of saving the face of all parties. The goal is to reach a negotiating solution in which one party is not presented as a loser and the other as a winner.”

On the other hand, according to this perception, the United States tends to prefer the option of integrating the Sahara within Moroccan sovereignty within the framework of a negotiated settlement, which could practically mean the end of the independence project promoted by the Polisario.

Khadija Mohsen Fanan believes that the question that remains open is essentially related to the implementation of full autonomy, and explains that “it is difficult to say for certain at this stage. The Polisario Front seeks the maximum possible degree of autonomy, but its negotiating margin appears limited, especially in light of the Moroccan-American rapprochement.”

According to many experts, any final agreement to end the conflict will still need careful follow-up, taking into account the interests of Morocco and the stability of the region on the one hand, and the demands of the Sahrawis on the other hand, under direct international supervision from the United States and the United Nations.

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