The United Nations official exploring the dispute between Morocco and the Polisario movement over the West Sahara has admitted the prospects were dim for resolving the conflict, dpa quoted El Pais as reporting Saturday.
The Spanish daily cited a report by UN special envoy Christopher Ross in which he accused both sides of showing little readiness to try to reach out to the other in the dispute.
El Pais cited from the report which was sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which the US diplomat argued that what is now needed is the support of Western powers to help broker a solution.
The dispute goes back 35 years when Morocco, after the end of the Franco regime in Spain, in 1975 annexed the former Spanish colony of the West Sahara, with Rabat claiming it to be Moroccan territory.
But the West Saharan movement Polisario, backed by Algeria, is insisting on a referendum of the local population to determine whether to declare the region's independence. The Polisaria is recognized by numerous African states as West Sahara's legitimate government.