Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Commission in the European Parliament, Libor Roucek stressed, on Friday, that the Moroccan initiative to grant a substantial autonomy to the Sahara should be encouraged and discussed. "I believe that the autonomy proposal is a good initiative that should be encouraged and discussed," Mr. Roucek said at the end of his meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representative,  Mustapha Mansouri, Chairman of the Foreign, Defense, and Islamic Affairs Committee, Fouad Ali El Himma, and Chairman of the Socialist group in the parliament, Ahmed Zaidi. According to the Euro-deputy, it is better to give a chance to this proposal as a platform for discussion instead of "keeping the status quo that leads to nowhere and serves nobody."

The United States have called, one day after the 4th round of Manhasset talks, to continue real and substantial discussions to reach a mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara issue.

The margin of Polisario's decision is "extremely limited", as it is at the mercy of Algeria, said Khalihenna Ould Errachid, chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS). "Polisario is on Algerian territory. It is funded and guided by Algeria and certainly the one who finances is the one who commands," said Ould Errachid in a press statement Tuesday in Manhasset (New York), at the end of the 4th round of negotiations on the Sahara. As for Algeria, it says, on the one hand, want to seek a solution to the Sahara conflict to promote the building of the Arab Maghreb, but on the other hand, it provides no effort to facilitate the process of negotiations and back the efforts aimed at finding a political settlement to this issue, he noted.

 The fourth round of UN-facilitated negotiations between Morocco and the Algerian-backed separatist movement "Polisario" on the Sahara dispute wrapped up, here Tuesday, with the parties agreeing to continue these talks in the future. "In  concluding this fourth round of talks, the parties reiterated their commitment to continue the negotiations at Manhasset at a date to be determined by common agreement," a communiqué of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, said on Tuesday.   The communiqué read by Mr. Van Walsum at the end of this round, added that "the discussions focused on the implementation of the Security Council resolutions 1754 and 1783. The parties also discussed thematic subjects such as administration, justices and resources."

Morocco remains committed to the negotiations process underway with the Algerian-backed separatist movement Polisario, but remains fully intransigent over its territorial integrity, members of the Moroccan delegation to the UN-facilitated negotiations on the Sahara said here late at night.