Algeria announced on Thursday that it was severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, giving its ambassador 48 hours to leave the country. Abu Dhabi expressed hope that the decision would be "temporary," following years of escalating tensions between the two nations.
"After exhausting all means to preserve bilateral relations, the Algerian government decided today to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates," the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Later that evening, the Algerian Ministry of Defense announced the closure of its airspace to all "UAE-registered civilian and military aircraft, both to and from the country."
Flights to and from Algeria will continue until the end of the current agreement between the two countries, the statement clarified.
In a statement published on its website on Thursday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The UAE hopes that this decision will be temporary, in a way that preserves the fraternal ties between the two brotherly peoples," emphasizing its "keenness" to maintain and strengthen "these ties and shared interests."
The Algerian Foreign Ministry stated that the Emirati ambassador was received at the ministry headquarters on Thursday, where he was officially informed of the decision. He was also told he had been given 48 hours to comply.
The statement added, "In the face of the increasing provocative and hostile actions emanating from the United Arab Emirates, Algeria has exercised considerable restraint and a high sense of responsibility."
It noted that Algeria "spared no effort in drawing the attention of the Emirati side and warning it of the grave consequences that could result from its regrettable and unjustified behavior."
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had repeatedly hinted at the possibility of severing relations with the UAE, referring to it as a "mini-state."
In a media interview in July, he said, "We are talking about a mini-state because its influence is very negative, and we have the evidence." Wherever they set foot, blood is spilled,” he added. “We want them to stay away from us so that no blood is spilled here.”
- “Warnings” -
Disagreements between Algeria and Abu Dhabi have escalated since the start of Tebboune’s first presidential term in 2020, particularly after the UAE joined the Abraham Accords and normalized relations with Israel, along with Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan.
When asked about this move, Tebboune said he did not like “this rush” towards normalization.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry stated that it had issued “numerous warnings” to the UAE to stop what it described as “hostile actions,” but Abu Dhabi “continued its transgressions, which have reached a point where they can no longer be considered acceptable (...) or left unanswered.”
Emirati researcher Mohammed Baharoon, head of the Dubai Center for Public Policy Research, believes that Algeria made this decision “against its own interests,” considering it to represent “economic and political isolation at a time when Algeria needs economic and trade outlets.” He said, “Algeria is "It is depriving itself of access to global markets."
Algerian media outlets close to the authorities accuse the UAE of interfering in Algeria's internal affairs and those of neighboring countries, particularly Libya and the Sahel region.
According to Jeff Porter, an expert at North Africa Risk Consulting, Algeria "has been striving to maintain a degree of stability" in the Sahel region, while "the UAE has been working in direct opposition to this."
He added, "Algeria saw the UAE's interference in North Africa and the Sahel not only as contradicting the principles of Algerian foreign policy, but also as an indirect threat to Algerian security."
On July 19, the newspaper Al-Khabar published a prominent headline on its front page that read, "Towards Severing Diplomatic Relations with the UAE."
It stated, "Abu Dhabi and its Zionist rulers have consistently fueled discord, financed conspiracies, and orchestrated plots" against countries that reject its influence and interference in their internal affairs, specifically mentioning Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, and Mali. And Niger.
Strategic affairs researcher Rachid Allouche told AFP that "the UAE's involvement in sponsoring and financing hostile activities in Algeria's regional neighborhood is undeniable and aims to undermine Algerian national security, as well as that in Niger, operating from southern Libya."
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