Algeria Announces Break in Diplomatic Relations With United Arab Emirates

Algeria has announced that it is ending diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, saying a series of actions by Abu Dhabi had become increasingly hostile and had reached a point that Algiers could no longer accept.

Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the decision followed repeated warnings to the UAE and came after Algerian authorities concluded that all available efforts to preserve bilateral relations had been exhausted.

According to the ministry, the Emirati ambassador was summoned and formally informed of the decision. He was given 48 hours to comply with the requirements resulting from the diplomatic break.

The UAE had not immediately issued a public response to Algeria’s announcement.

Relations between the two Arab countries have deteriorated steadily in recent years as their governments have adopted sharply different positions on several major political and security issues across the Middle East and North Africa.

One of the major disagreements involves Israel. Algeria has consistently opposed normalization with Israel, while the UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the United States backed Abraham Accords. Morocco, which has longstanding tensions with Algeria, also joined the normalization agreements.

The dispute over Western Sahara has further deepened differences between Algiers and Abu Dhabi. Algeria supports the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the disputed territory, while the UAE has backed Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara and has established a consulate there.

The disagreement has become an important source of tension between Algeria and Morocco, with the Western Sahara question remaining one of the most sensitive territorial disputes in North Africa.

Algeria and the UAE have also increasingly found themselves pursuing different interests in the Sahel region. The UAE has expanded political and economic relationships with several governments in the area, while Algeria has faced growing challenges in its relations with some of its southern neighbours following a series of military coups.

The widening rivalry has contributed to concerns in Algiers about the UAE’s regional influence and its involvement in conflicts and political developments beyond the Gulf.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has repeatedly criticized the UAE in public remarks. He has accused the country of attempting to influence and destabilize governments across the region, at times using unusually harsh language to describe Abu Dhabi’s regional role.

In a televised interview in July, Tebboune accused the UAE of having a damaging impact wherever it became involved and warned against what he described as efforts that could contribute to further bloodshed.

He also said Algeria wanted the UAE to remain away from its affairs to prevent similar instability from reaching Algeria.

Tebboune previously indicated that Algeria could have severed relations much earlier but had deliberately avoided taking such a step because of concerns that another diplomatic rupture could deepen divisions within the Arab world.

The latest announcement suggests that Algeria now considers those concerns outweighed by what it describes as increasingly serious actions by the UAE.

The diplomatic break represents a significant deterioration between two influential countries that have traditionally maintained formal relations despite differences over regional politics.

The decision could have wider consequences because both Algeria and the UAE maintain relationships with governments and political actors across North Africa and the Sahel. Their increasingly divergent approaches to regional security, alliances and territorial disputes have already contributed to a more complicated political landscape.

The Western Sahara conflict remains particularly important in understanding the dispute. Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front is closely tied to its longstanding foreign policy position, while Morocco has intensified international efforts to secure recognition of its sovereignty over the territory.

The UAE’s support for Morocco on the issue has placed it increasingly at odds with Algeria.

The two countries’ different positions on Israel have added another layer to the relationship. Algeria remains strongly opposed to normalization, while the UAE has developed extensive diplomatic, economic and security ties with Israel since the 2020 agreement.

For now, the next step depends largely on how the UAE responds to Algeria’s announcement. A formal reaction from Abu Dhabi could determine whether the dispute remains limited to diplomatic relations or develops into a broader confrontation.

Algeria’s decision marks one of the most serious developments in its relationship with the UAE in recent years and reflects the growing competition over political influence and regional security across the Arab world, North Africa and the Sahel.

Courtesy: aljazeera