"The Moroccan autonomy plan exists, it is on the table and (it) is a new element of proposal, after years of a deadlock. I express the (hope) that it can serve as a basis for negotiation for the search of a reasonable settlement to the Western Sahara issue," Sarkozy said in a speech at the Moroccan parliament late Tuesday. Sarkozy, whose three-day visit to Morocco rounds off Wednesday, described the Moroccan proposal as "serious and credible". Since 1975, the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front have been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of Western Sahara. The French President said his country supported "a political solution, negotiated and approved (by) the two parties, under the aegis of the United Nations" as a means of resolving the conflict. "France's position has not changed. My wish, which is also that of the international community, is that the parties find together a just and mutually-acceptable solution," he noted. The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara has been under the control of Rabat for more than three decades. Under the new plan, Morocco is proposing a greater autonomy for the region with, among others, a local government and local parliament under its sovereignty. The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, has rejected the Moroccan plan and reaffirmed "the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination". Rabat - 24/10/2007 Panapress