US Assistant Secretary Schenker Arrives at Sahara

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker arrived Saturday morning, in Laayoune, capital of the Moroccan Sahara.

Shortly after arrival, Schenker toured the city’s diplomatic district which hosts the consulates of several countries.

Schenker is scheduled to fly Sunday to Dakhla for kick-starting the process of establishing a US consulate in the Saharan city.

He also visited the headquarters of the United Nations mission in the Sahara (MINURSO).

Earlier, he has visited Algeria where he discussed with Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum the situation prevailing in Western Sahara and Mali.

They also have discussed the crisis in Libya, as well as the Sahel and the Middle East.

The US official affirmed, at a press conference following talks with Boukadoum, that political dialogue on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy initiative is the only solution to the dispute.

Morocco became the fourth Arab country to tie relations with Israel in the last four months as part of the Donald Trump administration’s “Abraham Accords” initiative.

Trump announced his country's recognition of Western Sahara as part of Morocco, which was considered a major diplomatic achievement for the country.

The Polisario condemned “in the strongest terms the fact that outgoing American President Donald Trump attributes to Morocco something which does not belong” to the country, namely sovereignty over Western Sahara.