Algerian, Spanish foreign ministers hold talks amid reports of 4-party meeting on Western Sahara

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations during talks in Madrid, amid media reports that the Spanish capital may host a four-party meeting Sunday on the Western Sahara issue.

Algeria's Foreign Ministry said late Saturday that Attaf held a working session with Bueno during a visit to Spain, without specifying its duration.

The ministry said the two sides reviewed "the state of cooperation and partnership between the two countries, exploring prospects for further momentum, particularly in the fields of energy, trade, investment, and transport, as well as judicial and consular cooperation."

They also stressed the importance of a forthcoming visit by the Spanish foreign minister to Algeria to prepare for the eighth session of the Algeria-Spain High-Level Meeting, the statement said.

The top diplomats exchanged views on international and regional issues, "foremost among which are developments in the Sahel-Sahara region and shared challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean region," it added.

The talks coincided with media reports that Madrid would host a US-mediated meeting Sunday on the Western Sahara region.

Spanish daily El Confidencial, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, said a four-party meeting would be held at the US Embassy in Madrid, bringing together the foreign ministers of Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, along with a representative of the Polisario Front, which disputes Moroccan sovereignty over the territory.

Spain's Foreign Ministry said Bueno met separately Saturday with his Algerian counterpart and Mauritania's Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug. It added that he is scheduled to meet Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, UN envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura, and US ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz.

Neither Madrid nor Washington immediately issued official confirmation of the four-party meeting.

Algeria has kept mum on the reports, a stance mirrored by Morocco, while Moroccan media engaged with the issue, citing the Spanish newspaper.

Moroccan outlet Al Maghribi said negotiations involving Morocco and Algeria, with the participation of Mauritania and the Polisario Front, would be held Sunday at the US Embassy in Madrid to discuss Morocco's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.

The site said the talks would be "confidential" and include US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, Ambassador Waltz and de Mistura.

If held, the talks would be the first of their kind since the Geneva negotiations in 2019.

Morocco and Algeria have kept their border closed since 1994 amid political disputes, most notably over Western Sahara. Observers in both countries are watching the reported US initiative closely, hoping it could ease the long-standing diplomatic rift.

In October, US envoy Steve Witkoff said his team was working on an agreement between Morocco and Algeria. Later that month, the UN Security Council adopted a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.

The dispute dates back to 1975 after Spain ended its colonial rule of the territory. It escalated into an armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front until a 1991 ceasefire.

Morocco controls most of the territory and proposes broad autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a self-determination referendum, a position backed by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the territory.

Attaf's visit is the first by a senior Algerian official to Madrid since March 2022, when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan. Algeria suspended its treaty of friendship with Spain in June 2022, triggering a sharp diplomatic rift.

The crisis led Algeria to halt imports from Spain while continuing exports-mainly gas and oil.

Since autumn 2024, trade relations have gradually normalized after Algiers allowed the resumption of imports. High-level visits resumed in 2025, including a trip by Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to Algeria, where he met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.