Algeria announced it is severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, accusing the Gulf country of repeated “provocative and hostile” actions.
In a statement released by the foreign ministry and carried on state media, officials said Algeria had tried to engage the UAE and warned of the fallout, but the behavior had become intolerable. The ministry said it had “exhausted all means of preserving bilateral relations.”
The UAE ambassador was called to the ministry and given 48 hours to leave, according to the statement. No specific incidents were listed as the trigger.
There was no formal reply from Abu Dhabi. But Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, responded on X without naming Algeria. He said diplomacy should be based on “rationality, communication and clarity of interests,” adding that “ambiguity is not a policy, and noise does not compensate for the absence of vision.”
Tensions between the two countries have been building for years over regional disagreements.
Algeria opposes normalizing relations with Israel, a step the UAE took under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. Morocco, Algeria’s neighbor and rival, also normalized ties with Israel.
The countries are also on opposite sides of the Western Sahara dispute. The UAE backs Morocco’s claim to the territory. Algeria supports the Polisario Front, which is fighting for an independent Sahrawi state.
The break marks a sharp escalation in a relationship that has grown increasingly strained.
