U.N. Chief Reports Some Progress on W. Sahara Dispute
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ALGIERS — U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar said Tuesday he has made progress in solving the 15-year-old Western Sahara dispute.
“In a sense, we have made a certain progress,” he told reporters after talks designed to advance the holding of a referendum on the future of the former Spanish colony, claimed by both Morocco and Algerian-backed Polisario guerrillas.
“But there are still problems that we must try to resolve as soon as possible. It is a slow process,” he said.
Both sides have agreed to hold the referendum on independence or absorption into Morocco under U.N. auspices, but they disagree on whether Moroccan troops, administrators and settlers should withdraw first.
Perez de Cuellar met with Algerian President Chadli Bendjedid on Tuesday after earlier talks with Morocco’s King Hassan II and Polisario Secretary General Mohammed Abdelaziz.
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