Newsletters
The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday it hoped Algeria's decision to cut diplomatic relations between the two countries would prove temporary, responding hours after Algiers announced it was severing ties following years of escalating tension.
In a statement posted on X, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed what it described as the decision by "the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to sever relations with the United Arab Emirates." The ministry said it hoped "this decision will be temporary, in a manner that preserves the fraternal ties between the two brotherly peoples."
The statement framed the rupture in terms of shared history and kinship between the two Arab nations rather than directly addressing the grievances Algeria had cited in breaking off relations.
Algeria and the UAE have maintained diplomatic relations for decades, with Abu Dhabi operating an embassy in Algiers and Algeria maintaining a mission in the Emirati capital as well as a consulate in Dubai.
Both countries belong to the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Algeria's foreign ministry said the decision to cut ties followed a series of "provocative or hostile" actions by Abu Dhabi despite repeated warnings, adding that the situation had reached a point where it could no longer be considered acceptable.
Algeria also summoned the UAE ambassador and formally notified him of the decision. Algiers gave the ambassador 48 hours to comply.
Relations between the two countries have come under growing strain in recent years as Algiers and Abu Dhabi have taken differing positions on several regional issues.
Algeria has been unhappy with the UAE's 2020 normalization of relations with Israel and has voiced suspicion of Emirati activity in neighboring Niger, Mali and Libya, while also accusing the UAE of interfering in its internal affairs.
The two countries' interests have increasingly crossed in the Sahel, where the UAE has expanded ties with several governments even as Algeria's relations with some of its southern neighbors have been strained by a series of military coups.
Tensions escalated further in February, when Algeria began the process of cancelling an air services agreement with the UAE that had been signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously suggested his country's relations with Gulf states were warm with the exception of one, widely understood to be a reference to the UAE.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
