Blinken who understands the regional sensitivities scheduled his last stopover in Algiers to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra to discuss regional security and deepening economic and trade ties with the US...

The break in relations with Morocco announced by Algeria's urbane Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on 24 August confirmed the continuation of their cold war – stoked by simmering conflict in the disputed Western Sahara and represented by closed land borders since 1994 (AC Vol 62 No 16 Spy chiefs on manoeuvres)...

Also on the list was senior Algerian diplomat Ramtane Lamamra who this month returned to government for a third spell as Minister of Foreign Affairs...

Former Algerian foreign minister and AU bigwig Ramtane Lamamra's name went into the hat quickly but no Algerian would be acceptable to Morocco or Egypt both of which have considerable clout in the pan-African body...

Others staying on include career diplomat Sabri Boukadoum at Foreign Affairs (where he replaced Ramtane Lamamra in Bouteflika's very last reshuffle) Abderrahmane Raouia at Finance and Mohammed Arkab at Energy...

But it may fail just as an early effort to broker a national unity agreement involving the Deputy Prime Minister Ramtane Lamamra and veteran UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi – who few would deny are two of Algeria's most respected diplomats – quickly came to nothing...

The proposals are believed to be the work of two members of the inner circle both former foreign ministers: 85-year-old Lakhdar Brahimi who served as the UN's mediator in Syria between 2012 and 2014 and Ramtane Lamamra 66 who has now returned as foreign minister as well as taking on the newly created post of deputy premier (AC Vol 57 No 22 How to win friends and Vol 60 No 3 Diplomatic differences)...

He has been on the defensive ever since his fellow Algerian Ramtane Lamamra who was the Peace and Security Commissioner between 2008 and 2013 returned to the AU in October 2017 as High Representative for Silencing the Guns (AC Vol 59 No 11 The Sahara conflict is back)...