Hajar Kharroubi

To arrange MINURSO’s departure, its Russian chief, Alexander Ivanko, went to Rabat. Not Tindouf. The Polisario, which had loudly demanded that the mission remain, was not even consulted about its dismantling. Ivanko knows who he is dealing with: the movement’s decisions are made in Algiers. Moscow, despite having cast its veto in support of Algeria’s position, likewise deals only with Morocco and Algeria. The Polisario now serves as little more than a front for Algiers.

The UN General Assembly will meet on November 10 to debate the Russian veto that left MINURSO without a mandate. Moscow, which cast the veto, will be invited to speak first. Algiers, which pressed for it, will have to decide whether to stand by the decision or carry on pretending it never happened.

Repatriating 160 military observers and withdrawing 180 civilian personnel, closing and handing over 13 sites, disposing of equipment and archiving records: the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson outlined the plan to wind down MINURSO on Monday. After 35 years on the ground, the mission has no more operations to carry out. All that remains is to pack up.

Why are tomatoes selling for nearly 18 dirhams per kilogram at some retail outlets? In Souss-Massa, the source of 75% of Morocco’s winter tomato supply, yields have dropped from 180-200 tons to 90-100 tons per hectare, according to Amine Amanatoullah, an early-season vegetable producer and exporter. Plant viruses, higher fuel costs and a long chain of intermediaries are adding to the pressure. Here is what is driving the increase.

As Russia vetoed the US-drafted Sahara resolution at the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s aircraft stopped in Casablanca on both legs of his journey to the United States. They were merely refueling stops. But the contrast is striking nonetheless.

The American Jewish Committee sees Morocco as a model of interfaith understanding that could be replicated around the world. During a visit to Casablanca, Jason Isaacson, the organization’s Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer, spoke to Le360 about the foundations of a centuries-old relationship and the values of coexistence championed by the Kingdom.

Nasser Bourita appeared on a special program broadcast by 2M on Saturday, October 31, to discuss the end of the mandate of the MINURSO. The minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates said Russia’s veto had come as “no surprise” to Morocco, which had anticipated the move. He presented the situation as an opportunity to change rules inherited from the past and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to the ceasefire. Below is the full transcript of his remarks.

By blocking the US-drafted resolution on the Sahara, Moscow hoped to extend MINURSO’s mandate unchanged. It achieved precisely the opposite. Without a resolution, the mission loses its mandate and, according to the Royal Office statement, will leave Morocco’s southern provinces “in the coming days”. Russia’s veto has rid Morocco of a mission that had come to serve only its adversaries. Spasibo, Moskva!

Morocco’s UN ambassador Omar Hilale hit back sharply at his Algerian counterpart, Amar Bendjama, during a Security Council debate on the Sahara. Accusing Algiers of delivering an “indictment” of the United Nations, Hilale took apart Algeria’s arguments point by point, dismissing its legal reasoning as hollow.