20101219
reuters

MANHASSET, New York (Reuters) - Morocco and Western Sahara's independence movement agreed on Saturday to speed up talks next year on the disputed territory but remained at odds over its future status, a U.N. mediator said.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in northwest Africa, was annexed by Morocco in 1975, sparking a rebellion by the Polisario Front. The United Nations brokered a cease-fire in 1991, but no political settlement has followed.

"Each party continues to reject the proposal of the other as a sole basis for future negotiations," mediator Christopher Ross said after three days of talks near New York City between Moroccan and Polisario officials -- their eighth round since 2007.

Rabat is offering self-rule to Sahara as part of Morocco, but Polisario demands a referendum with full independence as one option. U.N. officials believe one of the two positions must be used as a basis for the talks, but neither side has been willing to back down.

Western Sahara, a thinly populated desert tract about the size of Britain, has rich fishing grounds off its coast and reserves of phosphates, used to make fertilizer and detergent. It may also have oil and gas reserves.

Many Saharans live in refugee camps in neighboring Algeria, which supports Polisario. Western countries complain that the Sahara dispute is hindering cooperation against Islamic fundamentalist groups in North Africa.

Ross said that despite the deadlock, the two sides were willing to "create a new dynamic in the negotiating process" in 2011 on the basis of regular meetings.

They will hold further talks on January 21-22 and again in March. Officials said no venue was decided, but most of the previous rounds have been held at the private Greentree estate in the hamlet of Manhasset on Long Island.