Ross may resume shuttle trips in August

UN chief's special envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, may resume his diplomatic shuttle trips in the region in August, in a bid to reinvigorate the negotiation process between the Polisario Front and Morocco, interrupted in 2012, a UN source said Wednesday.

The UN envoy may begin a new tour in the region this month, according to the source, which added that the United Nations is paving the way for the resumption of the talks process.

No date has been set so far, the source noted, stressing that "obstacles to the efforts of Ross during the trip may come from Morocco."

The last time the two sides sit around a negotiation table dates back to March 2012 in Manhasset, New York. 

The UN Security Council said in a resolution adopted in April that the parties to the conflict must prepare for a fifth round.

Last Tuesday, the Security Council called for the resumption of talks between the Polisario Front and Morocco culminating in the holding of a referendum on Western Sahara people's self-determination.

UN chief's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said United Nations Envoy Christopher Ross has had several contacts with the two parties to the conflict and the neighbouring countries, over the past weeks, to re-invigorate the Western Sahara negotiation process.