Africa10 September, 20262 min read
Algeria Cuts Diplomatic Ties With United Arab Emirates After Abu Dhabi Provocative Actions
Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates. Algeria cites provocative or hostile actions by Abu Dhabi after exhausting all means.
Algiers severs UAE ties
Algeria decided to cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after what it described as a series of “provocative or hostile” actions by Abu Dhabi, despite “repeated warnings,” according to Algeria’s foreign ministry statement carried by Al Jazeera. The BBC reported that Algeria announced the severing of diplomatic relations with the UAE on Thursday, and it aired breaking news that said, "Algeria has decided to cut its diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after exhausting all means capable of preserving bilateral relations."
The BBC added that the Algerian Foreign Ministry told the UAE ambassador he was given 48 hours to comply after being received at the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s premises on Thursday. Reuters said the move came in a surprise move on Thursday, with Algeria citing an escalation of provocative or hostile actions by Abu Dhabi despite “numerous warnings,” and it said no specific cause was stated for the decision.
Tebboune and Gargash trade barbs
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has repeatedly accused Abu Dhabi of meddling in Algeria’s internal affairs, and Al Jazeera quoted him saying, “Wherever they set foot, blood flows,” in a televised interview in July. The BBC reported that Tebboune had pointed to the possibility of cutting ties with Abu Dhabi and used the term “satellite state” in reference to the Gulf country, while it also quoted his July remarks that “We want them to stay away from us so that blood does not spill on our soil.”
On the UAE side, Anwar Gargash, the UAE president’s diplomatic adviser, responded on X with a statement that said, "Diplomatic relations are managed with reason, communication, and clarity of interests, not with puzzles or signals that require deciphering," as reported by the BBC. Reuters also carried Gargash’s X language, saying, "Ambiguity is not policy, noise cannot replace vision, and successful diplomacy rests on clarity of positions and sound management of interests and differences."
Regional disputes and next steps
The diplomatic rupture is tied in the sources to wider disagreements between Algeria and the UAE, including Algeria’s opposition to normalisation with Israel and the UAE and Morocco establishing diplomatic ties with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, Reuters said. Reuters also linked the split to the decades-old Western Sahara dispute, saying the UAE supports Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the territory where it has a consulate while Algeria backs the Polisario Front seeking independence for Western Sahara.
Al Jazeera said the UAE and Algeria have taken opposing sides in the Sahel, where the UAE expanded ties with several governments while Algeria’s relations with some southern neighbours have become strained following a series of military coups. In the immediate procedural aftermath, the BBC said the Algerian Foreign Ministry told the UAE ambassador he had been given 48 hours to comply, and Reuters said Algeria summoned the UAE ambassador to its headquarters where he was informed of the contents of the decision and told he had 48 hours to comply.