Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mikhail Bogdanov, received Algeria's newly appointed ambassador to Moscow, Boumediene Guennad (July 2023), on Tuesday. Their discussions focused on «the development of relations of deep strategic partnership» between the two countries, according to a statement from Russian diplomacy. Current issues on the international and regional agenda were also discussed, particularly the situation in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel-Saharan region. This meeting comes just days after Bogdanov met with Morocco's ambassador to Moscow to discuss «maintaining an active political dialogue on issues in the Middle East and North Africa». For the record, Russian diplomacy received a Polisario delegation in February. Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front, urged Russia to play a more significant role in resolving the Sahara question. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met with UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, on March 11th. Their discussions centered on «the status and prospects of the settlement process» for the conflict. Russia appears to be making efforts to relaunch the stalled political process in Western Sahara, which has been at a standstill since March 2019. Moscow is considering «De Mistura's latest contacts with all the players involved», according to Lavrov's department. In recent weeks, Moscow has held meetings with key players in the Western Sahara issue, including the United Nations.
