On Monday, March 11, in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura. The talks focused «on the state and prospects of the settlement process» of the conflict, Russian diplomacy said in a press release. «The stabilizing role of the United Nations Mission for organizing the referendum in Western Sahara was underlined. An exchange of views also took place on the prospects for relaunching the political process, taking into account de Mistura's latest contacts with all the stakeholders concerned», adds the same source. «The Russian side emphasized the importance of reaching a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara problem based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. On the same day, separate consultations took place between Staffan de Mistura and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Vershinin», Lavrov's department announced. De Mistura's visit to Moscow was announced by the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General. «The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, travelled to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian authorities», said Stéphane Dujarric in his press briefing yesterday evening. As a reminder, last February, Russian diplomacy received a Polisario delegation. Brahim Ghali urged Russia to play a greater role in resolving the Western Sahara issue. For his part, the head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko, held meetings from February 26 to March 1 in Rabat with ambassadors accredited to Morocco, including the representative of Russia in Rabat.
