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Algeria announced it is cutting diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, stating that all avenues to preserve bilateral relations had been exhausted, Algerian state media reported on Thursday. The decision, according to state media, was prompted by the UAE’s provocative and hostile actions.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Algiers gave the UAE ambassador 48 hours to comply with the decision.
Algerian media have previously criticized the UAE, accusing it of attempting to sow discord across the region.
During the previous year, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune indicated that Algeria’s relations with all Gulf states were warm except for one, an apparent reference to the UAE. He characterized ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as “brotherly”, while accusing the unnamed country of interfering in Algeria’s internal affairs and seeking to destabilize it.
Tensions rose further in February when Algeria initiated the termination of an air services agreement with the UAE, originally signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013.
President Tebboune has frequently described the UAE in speeches as a “micro‑state” or “statelet” that seeks to destabilize several countries across the region.
“Wherever they set foot, blood flows,” Tebboune said during a televised interview in July, adding that the UAE has had a “very negative impact.”
“We want them to stay away so that blood does not flow in our country,” he added.
At that time, Tebboune observed that a diplomatic break “would have happened long ago” had Algeria not endeavored to avoid deepening divisions within the Arab world.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
