At the United Nations Security Council, the United States vetoed an alternative Russian proposal regarding the Sahara issue. As reported by the newspaper Hespress, Washington declared that the Minurso mission cannot continue indefinitely without a profound review of its operational mandate, following the failure to reach an agreement on the draft presented by the American delegation.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz accused Moscow of having obstructed a text supported by eleven members of the Council. The counterproposal put forward by Russia received the approval of China and Somalia, while recording the abstention of eleven delegations and the opposing vote of Washington, which defended its own draft by calling it a targeted attempt to overcome a thirty-year stalemate.

Waltz explained that the United States, as the drafter of the text, had integrated various amendments on refugee protection and self-determination. According to the ambassador, internal reviews show the inadequacy of the current structure, emphasizing that preparations for the referendum ended more than twenty years ago and that the mission spends about eighty percent of its time resupplying itself.

The diplomat also recalled limits on patrols and the ban on air operations, urging unrestricted access for the refugee agency in the Tindouf camps. Waltz finally confirmed the continuation of diplomatic work alongside the UN and the personal envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura.