Algiers — The series of informal meetings held between Morocco and the Polisario Front "didn't give anything tangible" and the causes of this impediment are "clearly identified," said the Algerian Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel in an interview published Thursday by the daily paper Le Soir d'Algérie.

"We must recognize that the series of informal meetings initiated by UN personal envoy for Western Sahara Christopher Ross in 2009, to prepare the resumption of the fifth round of negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front, didn't bring any tangible results and the causes of this impediment are clearly identified," said Messahel.

Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco since 1975, is Africa's last colony. It is listed since 1965 among the 6 non-self-governing territories by the UN Decolonization Committee, and thus eligible for the implementation of the resolution 1514 of the UN General Assembly on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Messahel said that Ross's visit to the region will result in a briefing to the Security Council, scheduled on November 28.

He pointed out that the ideas that Ross will share with members of the Security Council will certainly not go away from the respect of international legitimacy and the right of the Saharawi People to self-determination and the final status of his country freely in the framework of self-determination.