Algeria has severed diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates after tensions between the two countries boiled over. Algiers on Thursday accused Abu Dhabi of a series of “provocative and hostile” actions, adding that it had exhausted attempts to preserve relations. In an apparent response, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said diplomatic relations should be based on “rationality” rather than “riddles”.
The rupture in relations comes amid differences between the two states over Israel, Western Sahara and alleged UAE influence in North Africa and the Sahel. Moreover, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has repeatedly accused the UAE of interfering in Algerian and regional affairs. Algeria’s Foreign Ministry accused the UAE of “provocative and hostile acts”, without providing details.
UAE Ambassador Yousef Saif Khamis Subaa Al-Ali was summoned, informed of the decision to cut diplomatic ties and given 48 hours to comply. Algeria also announced that it had decided to close its airspace to all UAE-registered aircraft starting Friday, with the exception of UAE commercial flights to and from Algiers, which are exempt until the end of the year. Algeria had already signalled its frustration with the UAE in February when it began the process of cancelling a 2013 air services agreement between the two countries.
Shortly after Algeria announced the decision to sever ties, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, wrote on social media that diplomatic relations should be based on “rationality, communication and clarity of interests” rather than “riddles and signals that require decoding”. Gargash did not explicitly mention Algeria or directly link his comments to Algiers’ announcement. Tebboune has rarely directly criticised the UAE by name, but observers say that his critical statements have clearly been directed at the Gulf state.
He has referred in speeches to a “micro-state” or “statelet” that he said was seeking to destabilise countries including Libya, Mali and Sudan, where the UAE has been accused of involvement in conflicts. The UAE has denied the allegations. In a televised interview in July, Tebboune said the unnamed state had a “very negative impact” in the region, adding that “wherever they set foot, blood flows”.
At the time, Tebboune said Algeria could have broken diplomatic relations with the state much earlier but had refrained because it did not want to deepen regional divisions. Algeria opposes normalisation with Israel, while the UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel through the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 and has since developed economic, diplomatic and defence ties with Israel. Another fundamental disagreement is their position on Western Sahara.
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