The informal talks on the Sahara, which ended on Tuesday evening, were marked by an "atmosphere of engagement, frankness and mutual respect," said Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara, Christopher Ross.

The restricted informal meeting will take place as part of the implementation of theUN security council’s resolution 1871 with the participation of Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Polisario, as mentioned by the statement.

Morocco will participate, at the invitation of UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, in a restricted informal meeting on August 9-11 in Austria, in preparation for the fifth round of negotiations on the Sahara, according to a statement by the Moroccan Foreign Ministry made on Saturday.

 The autonomous Sicilian government reaffirmed its support to the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco to settle the Sahara issue.

Delegations of the parties to the Sahara dispute and the neighbouring countries (Algeria and Mauritania) will hold informal meetings on August 10-11 in Austria, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General announced on Monday.