The establishment of a phony entity in the Sahara "would open the door to other separatist attempts," according to Algerian journalist and writer, Anwar Malek. Speaking in an interview with the Canada-based electronic paper "Akhbar Al Arab", released on Tuesday by the Moroccan Arabic-speaking daily "Rissalat Al Oumma", Mr. Malek affirmed that "the genuine solution to the Sahara issue (…) lies in achieving unity and not discord."  Stressing that Algeria bears historical responsibility for creating the phony entity of Polisario in the Sahara, he recalled that the late Algerian President, Houari Boumedienne, has exploited the presence of many students in Algerian universities "to settle his accounts with Morocco."

The Adviser of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Mr. Andre Azoulay, said that nothing prevents the future Mediterranean Union "from being a discussion forum between Morocco and Algeria over the Sahara issue". Speaking Saturday at ''l'Invité de la semaine'' programme by Radio France Internationale (RFI), Mr. Azoulay said "this dispute is discussed everywhere, but if tomorrow there are spaces that can help solve this problem why not". In this regard, Mr. Azoulay said that Morocco had "demonstrated creativity and imagination and offered autonomy as a solution to this issue".

Morocco which considers Algeria as a party to the Sahara conflict, deems that a "direct dialogue" with this country, is a prerequisite to settle this 32-year old dispute with the Algerian-backed separatist movement "Polisario", Minister of Interior, Chakib Benmoussa, said on Thursday at the weekly cabinet meeting.

"Autonomy is the rational and realistic solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue because it is the most practical, due to the inapplicability of self-determination", said the editor of the Qatari newspaper "Al - Watan "," Mr. Ahmed Ali. Commenting a letter from the ambassador of Algeria in Doha, issued Wednesday by the newspaper, in the wake of several interviews conducted by Al-Watan with Moroccan officials, Mr. Ali explained that the failure stems "from the complexity of the Sahara issue and the absence of a mechanism to identify Sahrawi people".

The Sahara issue, opposing Morocco to the Algerian-backed Polisario separatists is "the main obstacle" to development in the Maghreb region (a regional grouping also including Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), President of the Mauritanian Party for Union and Change (PMUC) said on Wednesday.