The Polisario Front is seizing the occasion of Victory Day on May 8 in Russia, which commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, to draw parallels between its own cause and the Russian wartime experience. In a message of congratulations to President Vladimir Putin, the leader of the Polisario Front stated: «We stand with you on this occasion with a firm belief in the values of freedom and justice, as the Sahrawi people—like the Russian people at the time—have suffered the consequences of injustice and aggression, and continue to suffer due to the illegal Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara». «On this historic occasion, I express my gratitude for Russia's principled stance and its defense of international legitimacy, as well as its commitment to a just and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and resolutions, thus allowing the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence». The Polisario leader has previously expressed a desire to visit Russia for an official trip and to meet with President Putin at the Kremlin. «We are working to achieve this goal in order to develop relations between the two parties», he said in February 2024, during an interview with a Russian media outlet. As the UN Security Council prepares for its regular sessions on the Sahara issue, scheduled for October and April, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reportedly stopped receiving Polisario delegations. Russian diplomats now prefer to address the matter directly with the Algerian ambassador in Moscow. Meanwhile, Morocco and Russia are working to finalize a new fishing agreement in the waters off Western Sahara in the coming weeks. The Russian government published a draft of the agreement on its official legal information website in April. The deal sets an annual fishing quota at 90,000 tons, with the possibility of adjustment, not exceeding a ceiling of 100,000 tons.
