Putin did not invite the Polisario to the Sochi meeting

President Vladimir Putin has invited African states to a ministerial meeting in Sochi on November 9-10. Morocco was represented there by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.

As during the Russia-Africa summit in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, the Polisario was excluded from the meeting. This sidelining did not provoke a hostile reaction from Algeria. His Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, present in Sochi, did not comment on the exclusion of the Polisario. This silence contrasts with his speech at the last session of the executive council of the African Union, held last July in Accra, where he called on the countries of the continent to demand the presence of all AU members at summits and meetings with international partners.

The Polisario did not protest either. Its media ignored the Sochi ministerial meeting. As a reminder, the two allies have not yet commented on the negotiations between Morocco and Russia for the conclusion of a new fishing agreement in Saharan waters.