The conflict over the final status of the territory of Western Sahara has gone on for far too long, United Nations envoy Christopher Ross told reporters in New York on Wednesday (November 28th).
“While some may believe that the status quo is stable and that it is risky to take chances for peace, I believe that this is a serious miscalculation, particularly now that the region is threatened by extremist, terrorist and criminal elements operating in the Sahel,” he said after a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council.
Ross also said that he would not convene another round of informal talks, as the previous nine meetings ended without results. Instead, he plans to focus on “shuttle diplomacy” with the parties and neighbouring states on the ground.