Russian and Polisario Front interests are intersecting at the Atlantic Ocean, providing the potential for an unexpected relationship that could change the status of the Western Sahara conflict.

On March 23, Moscow welcomed a delegation from the Polisario Front, the independence movement of the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara — territory to which Morocco also lays claim. M'hamed Khadad, the Polisario's coordinator with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, led the delegation and met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The latter received the Moroccan king last year.

The Sahara Press Service reported that Khadad called for strict adherence to international law so the Sahrawis can determine their own future. The UN has tried since 1991 to broker an agreement whereby Morocco would honor a referendum in which the Sahrawis could decide whether they want independence or integration with Morocco. For decades, Morocco has refused to consider any deal that includes the option of independence.

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release about the meeting that Bogdanov "reiterated Russia’s unchanging position on the need for a mutually acceptable political solution to this long-running problem, based on relevant UN resolutions." The ministry also said it wants to continue working with "all interested parties, in particular, with its partners in the Group of Friends of Western Sahara." The Group of Friends is composed of France, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.