Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE
A man speaks with Algeria's Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters in central Cairo, Sept. 7. AFP-Yonhap
ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria said Thursday it was cutting diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following years of tension, with Algiers accusing Abu Dhabi of interfering in national and regional affairs.
"Algeria has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, following the exhaustion of all means to preserve bilateral relations," Algeria's state television announced.
Algeria accused the UAE of "provocative and hostile acts," without providing details in a statement released by the foreign ministry.
"Algeria spared no effort to draw the Emirati side's attention to, and to warn it against, the dire consequences that could result from its regrettable and unjustified conduct," the ministry said.
There was no immediate reaction from UAE authorities.
Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has often referred to the UAE in speeches as a "micro-state" or "statelet" seeking to destabilize several countries in the region, citing Libya, Mali and Sudan.
No longer acceptable
"Wherever they set foot, blood flows," Tebboune said in a televised interview in July, adding that the UAE has had a "very negative impact."
"We want them to stay away, so that blood does not flow in our country," he added.
At that time, Tebboune said a diplomatic break "would have happened long ago" had Algeria not sought to avoid "deepening divisions" in the Arab world.
On Thursday, Algiers said it was giving the UAE ambassador 48 hours "to comply with the decision."
The foreign ministry said it had warned Abu Dhabi several times but the UAE "persisted in its actions, reaching a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable."
Tensions between the two countries have been fuelled by several developments in recent years.
Last year, Algerian state television denounced what it called a hostile media campaign after UAE-based broadcaster Sky News Arabia aired an interview with historian Mohamed Amine Belghit, who made controversial remarks questioning the existence of Algeria's indigenous Amazigh culture.
Belghit was jailed in Algeria but later pardoned by Tebboune.
Further divisions between Algiers and Abu Dhabi also stemmed from diverging diplomatic policies, including the UAE's normalization of ties with Israel in 2020.