Kenya's new president, William Ruto, said Wednesday (September 14th) that the East African country was cutting diplomatic ties with the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Republic (SADR), after talks with Morocco.
This break comes barely 24 hours after the investiture ceremony of William Ruto, which was attended by the leader of the Polisario Front independence movement, Brahim Ghali, in Nairobi.
The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, wants an independent state in Western Sahara, a vast stretch of desert that Morocco considers part of its own territory.
"
Kenya is canceling its recognition of SADR and taking steps to reduce the presence of this entity in the country
," William Ruto said on Twitter after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
“Finding a lasting solution”
Nasser Bourita gave him a message of congratulations from King Mohammed VI of Morocco, said William Ruto, adding that the two countries had agreed to improve their relations "
among others in the fields of trade, agriculture, health , tourism and energy
”.
“
Kenya supports the UN framework as the exclusive mechanism to find a lasting solution to the dispute
,” President Ruto said.
A former Spanish colony, Western Sahara sits at the western end of the vast eponymous desert, which stretches along the Atlantic coast.
The Polisario, which proclaimed the SADR in 1976, continues to demand, with the support of Algeria, the holding of a referendum planned by the UN at the time of the signing of a ceasefire between the belligerents. in 1991. Since then, 84 UN member states have recognized SADR.
But the issue of the region's status remains deadlocked and Morocco has built sand walls topped with barbed wire that still encircle 80% of the region.
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Rabat rejects any vote proposing independence as an option, arguing that for regional security reasons, only the issue of autonomy is on the table.
The UN, which considers Western Sahara as a "
non-self-governing territory
" in the absence of a final settlement, has deployed a peacekeeping mission there.
The African Union recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Republic as one of its members.