A few weeks before the pivotal October meeting at the UN Security Council, an official U.S. media outlet revealed details of discussions held in late July in Algiers between President Donald Trump's special advisor for Africa and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. During the meeting, Massad Boulos urged the Algerian leader to convince the Polisario leadership to accept Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. «The United States and many Western countries believe that the ongoing conflict over Western Sahara, together with the diplomatic rift between Algeria and Morocco, has undermined regional stability, weakened cooperation in combating security threats in the Sahel, and hindered prospects for economic and security integration in North Africa», the outlet reported. According to the same source, Washington sees Algeria's rigid position on the Sahara as the real challenge, rather than its refusal to normalize ties with Israel. «This dispute between Morocco and Algeria harms cooperation in this African region», it stressed. Last week, at the UN General Assembly, Algeria voted in favor of a resolution recognizing Israel's right to exist alongside a future Palestinian state. «My predecessors, Presidents Chadli and Bouteflika, may God rest their souls, had already stated that they had no problem with Israel», Tebboune recalled in a February 2 interview with a French media outlet. He also reiterated that normalization with Israel would take place «the very day a Palestinian state is established. This is in line with history. Our only concern is the creation of the Palestinian state». At the same time, Tebboune has consistently declared that he «will not abandon the Sahrawi people», a message he once again emphasized on July 18. In recent months, Algiers and Washington have strengthened their ties. On January 22, General Michael Langley, commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), signed a military cooperation agreement in Algiers with Algerian armed forces chief General Saïd Chengriha. More recently, on Sunday, September 14, General Claude K. Tudor, head of AFRICOM's special operations, met in Algiers with General Mostefa Smaali, chief of Algerian ground forces.
