The U.S. recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara makes it possible to move forward towards a "lasting" settlement of the Sahara issue, said Thursday French MP and former Speaker of the French National Assembly, François De Rugy.

The United Nations published, on Wednesday, the letter sent recently by the Permanent Representative of Morocco, Ambassador Omar Hilale, to the UN Secretary General and to the Council Security, in which he denounces the instrumentalization by South Africa of its presidency of the African Union, in order to advance its ideological and political agenda on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara.

Morocco's intervention to reopen the El Guergarat crossing was necessary after the exhaustion of diplomatic efforts, director of the Spanish magazine specializing in Maghreb affairs "ATALYAR", Javier Fernandez Arribas, said on Wednesday.

Friends of Morocco in the European Union must adopt a position in support of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, following the example of the United States, said Morocco's Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Hanane Saadi.

The situation in Guerguarate is calm and normal, authorized sources said Sunday morning, adding that road traffic between Morocco and Mauritania, and beyond to sub-Saharan Africa, "is not disrupted in any way".