The Russian flag was raised in the Western Sahara territory controlled by the Polisario Front, in gratitude for Moscow's position at the UN Security Council on the conflict, Mohamed Yeslem Beissat, head of the Polisario delegation that visited Moscow this spring, told Sputnik.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the country could not support an initiative that would strip the people of Western Sahara of their right to vote.