The people of Algeria remain deeply grateful to the Soviet and Russian people for their steadfast support throughout the nation's fight for independence, Toufik Djouama, the Algerian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, said during a roundtable discussion held at the headquarters of the "Communists of Russia" party.
The event focused on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
"We thank the Russian people, and previously the Soviet Union, because we received vital support from the Soviet Union during our struggle for independence," the ambassador stated. "We continued to receive support from the Russian Federation in the post-independence period, and that support remains ongoing today."
Djouama emphasized that the Algerian people also highly value the position of the Russian authorities in supporting the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. "We hope that this support will continue and grow even stronger, as the issue of Western Sahara is currently on the threshold of a critical phase. It is essential for global solidarity to increase and become more effective," he added.
Algeria was a French colony from 1830 to 1962, eventually gaining its independence following a national liberation war that lasted from 1954 to 1962. For many years, the government and public organizations of the People's Democratic Republic have demanded official and exhaustive apologies from Paris for crimes committed during the colonial era.
The situation in Western Sahara has also remained a subject of international dispute for decades. Since the mid-1970s, the POLISARIO Front (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) has sought independence for the region. Following the withdrawal of Spanish colonial forces in February 1976, the Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and launched an armed struggle with Algerian support.
Hostilities in the conflict zone continued until a 1991 ceasefire overseen by a UN peacekeeping mission. Despite numerous international peace initiatives, the dispute remains unresolved. Morocco considers Western Sahara an integral part of its territory, offering only autonomy within the kingdom. Since June 2007, Morocco and the POLISARIO Front have engaged in four rounds of negotiations, all of which ended without a breakthrough. Morocco currently controls approximately 80% of the Western Saharan territory.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS