Russia proposes itself as a mediator between Algeria and Morocco
By Pedro Canales
The tireless Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has led the Kremlin’s diplomacy for two decades, held two meetings in New York aimed at mediating the crisis that poisons the political situation in North Africa. The first meeting took place on Thursday, September 26, with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, and the second on Friday, September 27, with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf.
According to some diplomatic analysts, Sergei Lavrov handed letters from Russian President Vladimir Putin to his interlocutors, addressed to King Mohammed VI and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, respectively.
Russia proposes itself as an impartial mediator between Morocco and Algeria, not only to definitively resolve the political and territorial disputes between the two North African countries, but also to address the crisis in Western Sahara. Russian neutrality is increasingly acceptable. While the Kremlin remains Algeria’s traditional strategic ally in the military sphere (though less so in security), its relations with Morocco have evolved from being an economic and commercial partner to becoming a political and strategic ally. This makes Russia a mediator listened to by both sides, interested in achieving shared success.
However, it is important to note that the Kremlin’s interlocutors in the region differ in institutional rank. In Morocco, the interlocutor is the Royal Palace and King Mohammed VI personally. In Algeria, there are two interlocutors: first, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Saïd Chengriha, and second, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Russia’s relations with the Polisario Front, the third actor in the North African crisis, have cooled. Nonetheless, Russia remains practically the only member of the UN Security Council that maintains ties with the Sahrawi independence movement, to which it still listens. Russian mediation would aim to negotiate a resolution to the conflict based on Morocco’s proposal for advanced autonomy under international supervision.
At the meeting between Sergei Lavrov and Ahmed Attaf, sources indicate that the Russian minister informed his Algerian counterpart that the expansion of the BRICS group would not be discussed at the upcoming meeting in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, despite the new candidates’ requests. In previous statements, Lavrov had insisted that the current focus is on making the BRICS structures function effectively, especially the joint bank, and on establishing a program capable of gradually replacing the World Bank and the IMF, as well as the dollar as the reference currency.
Russia’s explanation to its Algerian counterpart, whose BRICS membership candidacy was rejected at the Johannesburg summit in August 2023, led to an editorial in Algeria’s official newspaper “El Moudjahid” the following day, September 28. The Algerian regime declared that it was not interested in joining the group and preferred to pursue an international political strategy based on bilateral agreements.
