Africa-Press. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has brought the Sahara issue back to the forefront of international attention by sponsoring a new round of negotiations held at the U.S. embassy in Madrid, marking Washington’s first official move at this level after years of stalemate.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations confirmed that senior delegations from the United States and the UN facilitated direct talks bringing together Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania, as part of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025) on Western Sahara. The talks were held under the supervision of President Trump’s special adviser for African and Arab affairs, Massad Boulos, with the participation of U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz.
The American initiative aims to impose a new negotiating dynamic based on political and time pressure on the concerned parties, in order to reach a clear roadmap with achievable interim goals, particularly regarding the concept of self-determination and the mechanisms for implementing the autonomy proposal.
In this context, the participating parties agreed to establish a permanent technical committee composed of legal experts from Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. The committee will operate under joint U.S.-UN supervision and will be tasked with developing the technical and legal aspects of a solution.
The U.S. delegation also secured preliminary approval to hold a new meeting in Washington next May, which is expected to lead to the signing of a political framework agreement forming the basis for the next phase of negotiations.
The Madrid talks are part of a broader negotiation process that has previously included rounds in Geneva and Manhasset. However, the latest U.S. move reflects a more direct approach by the Trump administration to steering the file, despite the continued sharp differences between Moroccan and Algerian positions on the future of the Sahara.
