The UN peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara remains without a mandate after Russia and the United States both vetoed each other’s resolution on the matter at the UN Security Council.

The dispute centred on Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed territory, with Washington seeking to strengthen the plan’s position as the basis for negotiations.

The double veto blocked the council’s annual renewal of the mission, which it has routinely extended in previous years.

The US-drafted resolution would have established Morocco’s autonomy plan as the sole basis for negotiations and reduced the military component of the UN peacekeeping mission. It would also have extended the mission’s mandate for another year.

The confrontation marked an unusual showdown between major powers over what has traditionally been a routine Security Council decision.

Last year, the Security Council dealt a blow to the Polisario’s ambitions by endorsing Morocco’s autonomy proposal as a basis for resolving the conflict. The council also asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to review the peacekeeping mission.

The failed US resolution would have removed the word “referendum” from the mission’s name, changing it from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) to the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara.

Following the vote, US Ambassador Michael Waltz said longstanding disagreements over voter eligibility had prevented the UN from holding a referendum.