"The sovereign has, first and foremost, renewed Morocco's strong, sincere commitment to a true and effective political solution to this regional dispute," Fassi Fihri told MAP, adding that "to this end, Morocco will continue to fully cooperate with ambassador Ross to implement the new guidelines included in the most recent UN Security Council resolutions, which laid the basis for the ongoing political process."
   The minister recalled that these are six precise, basic principles: "First, the pressing need to overcome the current impasse and break the status quo which is detrimental to the Maghreb region. Second, the Security Council highlights the role and responsibility of the parties in seeking the solution. The parties must henceforth originate and instigate the solution. Similarly, the Council stresses the obligation for the parties to cooperate not only with the United Nations, but also with one another to move forward toward a viable solution. This guideline calls, therefore, on Morocco and Algeria to work together and at bilateral level on this issue.”
    Moreover, the minister went on, “negotiations are the approach advocated by the Council to settle the dispute. They should take place in good faith and without prior conditions, be substantive, based on realism and a sense of compromise, and take into account the efforts made by Morocco since 2006, away from any maneuvers or provocation.”
    The ultimate goal of the process, he went on, is to reach a mutually acceptable solution, in line with the logic of compromise and, hence, of a +third way+. Finally, self-determination as a general principle to be implemented in its true, diversified and modern sense.”

              +Option of independence definitively excluded+
    The minister also recalled that “the Moroccan autonomy initiative stems from this logic, is perfectly in tune with all the principles and guidelines of the Security Council. It was conceived as a flexible, democratic framework to reach a final solution to this regional dispute, in respect for the Kingdom’s sovereignty.”
    “The Moroccan initiative was introduced at the request of the international community. It was officially sought by the former Personal Envoy, awaited by the Secretary-General and hoped-for by the Security Council to get out of the impasse and move forward toward a political solution. It was behind the ongoing negotiation process and generated the current dynamic,” he said.
   “In this regard, Morocco deplores the rigid, non constructive position of Algeria and Polisario, which makes any political solution exclusively conditional on the holding of a referendum with multiple and extreme options, that is impossible to implement and which remains rare in the UN practice,” he added.
    The Kingdom also regrets that the other parties insist on reviving outdated and totally excluded formulas, he went on, recalling, in this regard, that “this kind of referendum is no longer mentioned in the Security Council or the General Assembly resolutions”.
    “Morocco explained to Ross that the logic of compromise requires all the parties to give up extreme options, and, therefore, the option of independence is, for Morocco, definitively excluded,” Fassi Fihri said.
    Morocco has drawn the Personal Envoy’s attention to the peculiar, unprecedented situation in the world, which is illegal from the perspective of law, in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, the minister noted.
    “I recalled the indisputable legal obligation for each and every country to apply, under international law, its own laws on its national territory. I also insisted to Ross on the need to provide protection for the refugee populations” through a headcount, away from all sorts of confusion or attenuation of responsibility, Fassi Fihri concluded.