The United States decided to open a consulate in Western Sahara. This was announced by the country's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his Twitter.
“I am happy to announce that we have begun the process of establishing a consulate in the region, we are now opening a virtual presence post for Western Sahara, which will focus on promoting economic and social development,” Pompeo wrote. He added that Washington will soon open a fully functioning consulate there.
Thus, the State Department is acting in accordance with the December decree of US President Donald Trump, according to which the United States recognizes Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory bordering Algeria and Mauritania. At the same time, in fact, Washington is acting bypassing the UN, which considers Western Sahara a territory that does not belong to anyone and has not realized the right to self-determination.
Western Sahara has been seeking independence since the mid-1970s. Since 2007, the Moroccan authorities and the local military-political organization Front Polisario, which proclaimed the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic with the support of Algeria, have negotiated four times over the status of the region. They all ended in vain.
Morocco considers this territory to be its integral part and does not allow its independence. The official authorities agree only to grant her broad autonomy within the kingdom.
