APS : Friday, 11 January 2019
COPENHAGEN-Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel hosted a conference Thursday in Copenhagen on Algeria’s contribution to stabilizing the region and the Arab world and its counterterrorism and deradicalization experience.
In this regard, Messahel stressed that “Algeria’s foreign policy relies on clear principles, namely non-interference in others’ affairs, equidistance from all parties,
positions and interests, and ownership of crisis and conflict resolution processes without any foreign interference or pressure.”
Our foreign policy is also based on respect for the territorial integrity of the countries concerned, their sovereignty, their national unity and also on the preservation of their national cohesion, said the FM.
Algeria’s action is also compliant with the Charter of the United Nations, international legality and universal values that transcend circumstances and contribute to the rapprochement of individuals and to the rapid and peaceful settlement of conflicts between peoples and States,” stressed Messahel.
In the same vein, Messahel recalled the contribution of some of Algeria’s mediation efforts to the signing, in 1975, of the border agreement between Iran and Iraq, the release, in 1981, of American diplomats held hostage in Tehran, and the Peace Agreement signed in 2000, between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which had brought armed conflict to an end and helped these two countries restore their relations and look positively to their common future, as well as mediation in the Great Lakes crisis and the signing of Ta’if Agreement, which ended the civil war in Lebanon.
“Today, my country remains fully committed to the peace processes in Libya, Mali and Western Sahara, and has engaged in a multifaceted cooperation with its neighbours, both in the North and the South, to address the scourges of terrorism and violent extremism,” stated Algeria’s top diplomat.
Turning to the situation in Libya, Messahel stated that “Algeria, as a neighbouring country, fully supports the efforts and roadmap of the United Nations for a political solution between all Libyan parties without foreign interference and under respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and national cohesion of this sister country”, recalling that Algeria “maintains a position of equidistance with all parties.”
As regards Mali, Messahel said that “Algeria remains fully committed to the implementation of the Algiers Peace Agreement by all signatory parties to this document despite the escalation of violence and terrorism.”
Speaking of the situation in Western Sahara, the FM stressed that “Algeria supports the efforts of the United Nations for the right of this non-self governing country to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and international law.”
“Alongside with Mauritania, Algeria took part, as an observer, in the recent Geneva negotiations led by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara,” recalled Messahel.
