The UN chief Ban Ki-moon's Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Christopher Ross, said on Thursday in Armonk that the informal talks on the Sahara "took place in an atmosphere of serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect."

Morocco calls upon other parties to work towards a "realistic" solution to the Sahara issue, emphasizing the inapplicability of the referendum option, reported Wednesday Agence France Presse (AFP).  

Upon the invitation of the United Nations Secretary General's Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, Morocco will take part, on February 9-11, in the city of Armonk in New York outskirts, in the second informal meeting in preparation for the fifth round of negotiations aiming to find a political and final solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

The Moroccan proposal to grant autonomy to the southern provinces, the Sahara, reflects Morocco's clear and sincere commitment to find a solution to the Sahara issue, said on Saturday in Kortrijk (north-west Belgium) a member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS).

A large majority of the southern populations is convinced that the Moroccan proposal to grant a broad autonomy to the southern provinces is the only solution to settle the Sahara issue, member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, Moulay Ahmed Mghizlat, said on Tuesday.