After expressing support for Morocco's plan to render the Western Sahara region autonomous, the Polisario Front in Spain argued that the government is "making a grave error" for its shifted position and support for Morocco.

Western Sahara used to be a Spanish colony, rich in phosphate and enjoying access to Atlantic fishing waters. However, Morocco sees the region as part of its territory.

The Polisario Front, backed by neighboring Algeria, used armed force in the 1970s to fight for a separate territory based on an independence referendum.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday said the Moroccan proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy in 2007 was the "most serious, realistic and credible basis" to put an end to the territorial dispute which has been going on for years.

Polisario responded angrily in a statement they released on Friday.

"The position expressed by the Spanish government totally contradicts international legitimacy," the Polisario statement read. 

The Spanish government has taken more or less a neutral stance on Western Sahara - meanwhile, the Algeria-backed separatists have called on the ex-colonizer and all their political parties to "exert pressure on the Spanish government to correct this grave error."

"The United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice and all regional organisations do not recognise Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara," the movement said.

In early March, Washington has also expressed support for Morocco's autonomy plan in Western Sahara. US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, in a visit to Rabat, said, "We continue to view Morocco's autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic."

The Trump administration, in late 2020, in exchange for normalization with "Israel", recognized Morocco's "sovereignty" over Western Sahara.

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