As the Security Council is set to adopt a new resolution on the Sahara issue on October 30, Algeria is courting Russia. This is evidenced by the meeting on October 9, «at the request» of the Algerian ambassador in Moscow, Boumediene Guennad, with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Vershinin, as indicated by Russian diplomacy in a statement. The talks focused on «the prospects for interaction between Russia and Algeria on the UN 'platform,' as well as a number of issues on the Security Council's agenda, including conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahara, and the Sahel region», according to the same source. «Particular attention was paid to the settlement of the Western Sahara issue in light of its upcoming review at the Security Council this month and discussions on the activities of MINURSO», the Russian diplomacy specified. The Sahara conflict was on the agenda of the meeting on September 28 in New York, between the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf. The Algerian government wishes to form, in the coming days, a bloc of countries that will vote, on October 30, against the resolution of the UN executive body, which is to extend the mandate of MINURSO in the Sahara for an additional year. In its project, Algiers can count on the support of Mozambique, an African state that recognizes the «SADR». On this issue, Russia has opted for abstention in recent years.
