The recent meeting in Turkey between Donald Trump's special advisor, Massad Boulos, and the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, has sparked a shift in stance within the Polisario Front, which now openly opposes American demands. In response, the Trump administration has taken a tougher stance. DR ‹ › The April 17 meeting in Turkey between Massad Boulos, special advisor to President Donald Trump on African and Arab affairs, and Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf appears to have marked a turning point. The encounter notably influenced the Polisario Front's messaging. The Polisario expressed opposition to a U.S. proposal reportedly calling for the dismantling of the Tindouf camps and for discussions to focus solely on Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. The Front reiterated its long-standing position on «decolonization», citing historical resolutions from the UN General Assembly and the African Union. More significantly, its leadership avoided referencing American mediation, instead emphasizing the role of the United Nations, despite the UN's largely observational role during the two rounds of talks held last February, first at the U.S. embassy in Madrid, then in Washington. Brahim Ghali's recent statements reflect this shift, widely seen as aligned with Algiers. In an April 8 speech marking the «50th anniversary of the creation of the SADR», he praised «the ongoing efforts led, within the framework of Resolution 2797 (adopted on October 31, editor's note), by the United Nations and the United States of America to achieve a fair, definitive, and mutually acceptable solution». Similarly, his «foreign minister», Mohamed Yeslam Beissat, told an official Algerian outlet that the Trump administration, unlike its predecessors, «is the first to genuinely and commendably strive to bridge viewpoints and organize direct negotiations between the parties, in line with United Nations resolutions». He described the U.S. initiative as an «important development» in efforts to resolve the conflict. A shift in tone However, following the Boulos–Attaf meeting, the tone shifted sharply. On April 20, during a speech at a congress of the movement's women's organization, Ghali praised «the United Nations' efforts to complete the decolonization of Africa's last colony», notably omitting any reference to the United States. His «natural resources advisor», Oubi Bachir, echoed this position on Germany's public broadcaster DW Arabic, stating that «the right to self-determination belongs exclusively to the Sahrawi people, who alone have sovereign authority to decide the territory's final status». In response to these statements sidelining U.S. mediation, the Trump administration reacted firmly. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Monica Jacobsen, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, said she «shares the concerns» raised by Senator Ted Cruz regarding alleged links between the Polisario and Iranian-backed groups. Le sénateur américain Ted Cruz ?️ : «L'Iran cherche à transformer le Front Polisario en une version des Houthis en Afrique de l'Ouest.» ??#TedCruz #USA #Iran #Polisario #Politique pic.twitter.com/KR7jLPEHYj — Yabiladi.com (@yabiladi_fr) April 23, 2026 This public stance marks a notable hardening of Washington's position toward the Polisario and Algeria. By way of comparison, in 2002, the Polisario initially rejected the Western Sahara partition plan proposed by UN envoy James Baker before eventually accepting it under Algerian pressure.
