Although the United Nations officially considers Morocco and the Polisario Front as the main parties to the conflict, former UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan viewed Algeria as a stakeholder in the Western Sahara conflict and has invited Algeria, "to engage as a party in these discussions and to negotiate, under the auspices of my Kofi Annan's Personal Envoy". In an interview with the Public Broadcasting Service, in August 2004, James Baker, former personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary to Western Sahara, identified Morocco and Algeria as being both the "two chief protagonists" of the conflict. Some third parties have called for both Morocco and Algeria to negotiate directly to find a solution for the conflict. Since the end of 2016, the UN has gathered stakeholders around roundtables organized in Geneva. The main novelty is that Algeria has been invited to these round tables. Algeria has refused to qualify itself as a "stakeholder" and has defined itself as an "observer". The first roundtable was held on 5 and 6 December, while a new roundtable was scheduled for 21 and 22 March.