Pedro Sánchez folds before Morocco and hands over the Sahara 46 years later

• Foreign Affairs Sánchez supports for the first time that the Sahara be an autonomous province of Morocco

• Reactions Yolanda Díaz and Podemos flatly reject the historical turn of the Government with the Sahara: "The only solution is the referendum"

The Government gave this Friday a historic turn to the foreign policy of

, by announcing that it supports the former Spanish colony of

becoming an autonomous region within Morocco, which is the position defended by

.

"Spain considers that the autonomy initiative is the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute," said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, using the same terms as a Moroccan government statement.

The news was advanced by Rabat and later confirmed by the Government of Pedro Sánchez through a statement and an appearance by Albares.

The agreement will be endorsed by Sánchez in an upcoming visit to Rabat and means closing the bilateral crisis with Morocco that began in April last year, when the Government welcomed the leader of

, Brahim Ghali, in Spain for hospital treatment for Covid. .

To achieve this, Sánchez has yielded to Morocco in a cornerstone of Spanish foreign policy for the last 46 years, maintained since Spain abandoned its colony in November 1975, in the midst of very complicated internal circumstances, with Franco about to die.

Until now, and except for some threats like the one made by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Madrid had always aligned itself with the United Nations resolutions, which establish a negotiated solution between the two opposing parties, Morocco and the Polisario Front, the first defender of a autonomy within Morocco and the second of a self-determination referendum.

Until this Friday, Spain avoided explicitly supporting one of the two parties in conflict.

The new position of Spain has been transferred by Pedro Sánchez to King Mohamed VI in a letter released yesterday by the

, in which he recognizes "the importance of the Sahara issue for Morocco" and in which he highlights "the serious efforts and credible" of the Alaouite kingdom "to find a mutually acceptable solution".

The Government of Morocco welcomed Sánchez's message, affirming that his commitment to the autonomy plan for the Sahara within the kingdom -proposed for the first time in 2007- "allows for a clear and ambitious roadmap to be envisaged in a lasting way" two-way relationship.

Rabat also announced that Albares will visit the Alaouite capital before April 2 to prepare for Sánchez's subsequent trip.

The Polisario Front responded, for its part, to this change in the position of the Spanish Government, a former colonizing power: «Spain succumbs to the blackmail and the policy of fear used by Morocco.

It is a position that does not correspond to the political and legal responsibility of Spain and that will condition its role in resolving the conflict».

Rabat welcomes the decision, which opens an "ambitious roadmap"

From Sánchez's letter to Mohamed VI it follows that Spain abandons the recognition of the right to self-determination of Western Sahara and grants a letter of nature to the current occupation by Morocco, recognizing its sovereignty over the territory.

There was no joint statement from the two countries.

Shortly after the Moroccan Royal House made Pedro Sánchez's letter public,

issued a note confirming its veracity, but without alluding in any of its three paragraphs to the Saharawi issue.

The Moncloa note states that a "new stage" is beginning in the bilateral relationship "based on mutual respect, compliance with agreements, the absence of unilateral actions and transparency and permanent communication."

The new phase, he adds, will be developed "as indicated in the communiqués of the Government of Morocco, in a clear and ambitious roadmap (...) to guarantee the stability, sovereignty, territorial integrity and prosperity of our two countries."

The Polisario affirms that Madrid succumbs to "blackmail" and the "politics of fear"

In addition, the Executive's statement emphasizes the determination to "face common challenges together, especially cooperation in the management of migratory flows in the

and the

, always acting in a spirit of full cooperation and restore full normality in the movement of people and goods.

On the Moroccan side, by contrast, none of these key issues for Spain were mentioned.

One, immigration, has been a fundamental part of the crisis, with massive arrivals in

and

.

In the other, the economy, Morocco keeps the borders with Spain closed.

José Manuel Albares, during his appearance this Friday from Barcelona.EFE

In his appearance, Albares confirmed all the information announced by Morocco and defended the change of position as a way to close a crisis, also framing the agreement that the war in Ukraine makes it necessary to close this dispute.

The minister also confirmed his imminent trip to Morocco, assured that he had informed Yolanda Díaz and the presidents of Ceuta, Melilla and the

of the agreement , and announced that he would appear at his own request in Congress.

The new position of Spain is made public four months after the United Nations decided to extend, after arduous discussions, the mandate of its mission for the Sahara (Minurso) and appointed the diplomat

as the new special envoy .

Spain highlights that "the sovereignty and integrity of the two countries" is guaranteed

The bilateral crisis with Morocco was about to be a year old.

At the end of April 2021, the reception in Spain of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, to receive hospital treatment, provoked an angry reaction from Rabat, which withdrew its ambassador from Madrid (who to date has not returned to her plaza) and led to a massive influx of immigrants into Ceuta in mid-May.

A similar incident was repeated in Melilla two weeks ago.

The dispute over Western Sahara is, however, much older.

It erupted in 1975, when Spain withdrew from what was then its 53rd province, after committing to the United Nations to decolonize the territory.

Morocco and

filled the void left by Spain and a war was unleashed against the Polisario Front -which has since claimed the right of the Saharawis over these lands-.

Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco filled its slot.

In 1991, Rabat signed a ceasefire with the Polisario Front.

The agreement, under the auspices of the UN, established the

, whose task was to call a self-determination referendum that to date has not been held.

While peace negotiations have stalled in recent years, in November 2020 the armed conflict was reactivated, raising the specter of a new war with regional consequences.

In December 2020, a tweet from then-

President Donald Trump broke with the

around the conflict by recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The unilateral decision disrupted North African geopolitics by setting fire to the old fuse of the rivalry between Rabat and Algiers.

Both countries broke diplomatic relations and Algeria closed the gas pipeline that passes through Morocco and that also supplied gas to the Peninsula, a particularly delicate circumstance in the current context of war in Ukraine.

Tension rose between Morocco and the key countries of the

, from which Rabat claimed a position along the lines of the US.

Hence the crisis with Spain.

made a similar statement a few weeks ago, supporting the autonomy of the Sahara, and Pedro Sánchez has decided to take a step that aspires to be definitive.

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