Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE after years of rising tensions

Algeria has decided to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after what it described as the “exhaustion of all means to preserve bilateral ties,” Algerian state media reported on Thursday.

• Algeria has officially cut diplomatic ties with the UAE, citing the exhaustion of all avenues to preserve their relationship.
• The Algerian Foreign Ministry accused the UAE of persistent provocative and hostile actions, leading to this dramatic escalation.
• Algeria accused the UAE of interfering in its internal affairs and supporting regional actors opposed to Algerian interests, further straining relations.
• Tensions worsened over the UAE’s growing alliance with Morocco, especially regarding the Western Sahara dispute, fueling Algerian concerns about regional influence.

Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Abu Dhabi of continuing what it called “provocative and hostile actions” despite repeated warnings. The ministry said recent developments had gone beyond what could reasonably be tolerated between two sovereign states, without providing specific details about the actions that prompted the decision.

The Emirati ambassador was summoned to Algeria’s foreign ministry and formally informed of the decision. He was given 48 hours to leave the country.

The move marks a major escalation in relations between the two North African and Gulf states, which have been strained over Algeria’s accusations that the UAE has interfered in its domestic affairs and supported regional actors opposed to its interests.

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Western Sahara adds to the friction

Algeria has also been critical of the UAE’s close relationship with Morocco, particularly amid the long-running dispute over Western Sahara.

The tensions became increasingly public last year when President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Algeria maintained “brotherly” relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, but singled out another Gulf state without naming the UAE. He accused that country of interfering in Algeria’s internal affairs and seeking to destabilise it.

Tebboune has since made increasingly pointed comments about the UAE, referring to it in speeches as a “micro-state” or “statelet.”

Business Insider Africa reported in February that Algeria had also begun procedures to cancel its air services agreement with the UAE, signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013.