UAE says hopes Algeria decision to cut diplomatic ties temporary

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday said it hoped Algeria's decision to cut diplomatic relations was temporary, following Algiers' move to sever ties after years of tension.

"In light of the decision by the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to sever relations with the United Arab Emirates... the UAE expresses hope that this decision will be temporary, in a manner that preserves the fraternal ties between the two brotherly peoples," the Emirati foreign ministry said on X.

Algeria announced earlier on Thursday that it was severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and gave its ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, following years of escalating tensions between the two countries.

In a statement, Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said: “After exhausting all means capable of preserving bilateral relations, the Algerian government has decided, today, to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates.”

Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said the UAE ambassador was received at the ministry on Thursday and was formally informed of the decision.

He was also given 48 hours to comply with the order.

“Faced with the increasing provocative or hostile actions emanating from the United Arab Emirates, Algeria has exercised a great deal of restraint and a high sense of responsibility,” the ministry said.

It added that Algeria “spared no effort” to draw the UAE side’s attention to and warn it of the “serious consequences” that could result from its “regrettable and unjustified conduct.”

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had repeatedly raised the possibility of severing relations with the UAE, referring to it as a “little state.”

In a media interview in July, he said: “We call it a little state because its impact is very negative, and we have the evidence. Wherever they set foot, blood is spilled.”

“We want them to stay away from us so that blood is not spilled here,” he added.

“Warnings”

Disputes between Algeria and Abu Dhabi have escalated since the start of Tebboune’s first presidential term in 2020.

Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said it had issued “numerous warnings” to the UAE to stop what it described as “hostile actions,” but Abu Dhabi “continued to persist in these actions, which reached limits beyond which they could no longer be considered acceptable ... or remain without a response.”

Emirati researcher Mohammed Baharoon, head of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center, said Algeria had made the decision “against its own interests,” arguing that it represented “economic and political isolation at a time when Algeria needs economic and trade outlets.”

“Algeria is depriving itself of access to global markets,” he said.

Algerian media outlets close to the authorities have accused the UAE of interfering in Algeria’s internal affairs and in neighboring countries, particularly Libya and the African Sahel region.

On July 19, the Algerian newspaper El Khabar ran a prominent front-page headline reading: “Toward severing diplomatic relations with the UAE.”