The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday, Thursday, that it was severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, accusing the country of “provocative actions,” as Algiers has for years accused Abu Dhabi of interfering in the internal affairs of states in the region.
Authorities added immediately afterward that they were closing Algerian airspace to military and civilian aircraft from the Emirates.
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The Algerian government stated that it made this decision after “exhausting all avenues that would have allowed bilateral relations to be maintained.”
The UAE, for its part, stated that it hopes the decision taken by Algiers is “temporary.”
The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs also emphasized its “appreciation” for the “brotherly Algerian people” and its “commitment” to the ties “that unite the two peoples.”
Algerian diplomats stated that they had notified the UAE ambassador of this decision, giving him “48 hours (…) to comply” with it.
In its statement, it cited, without going into detail, “provocative or hostile actions” on the part of the UAE, which, according to the statement, have “multiplied”.
The Ministry of Defense clarified that the airspace closure was to take effect at midnight (1:00 a.m. Cyprus time). However, this measure currently applies only to “commercial flights” from the Emirates “to or from Algiers International Airport” and will remain in effect at least “until the end of 2026.”
Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Taboun, has long accused the UAE of engaging in destabilizing activities in countries in the region, particularly in Mali, Libya, and Sudan.
“Wherever they set foot, blood is shed,” he recently claimed in an interview broadcast on public television, describing the Emirates as a “tiny state” with a “very negative impact.”
“All Algeria wants is for this state to stay away, so that the bloodshed in our country will cease,” he added.
He clarified that he would have severed diplomatic ties long ago, but Algiers did not want to exacerbate divisions among Arab nations.
Algiers considers this interference, which it attributes to the UAE, “not only contrary to its foreign policy principles, but also an indirect threat to its security,” he explained.
It also referred to “Emirati support for Khalifa Haftar in Libya,” the powerful general who controls the eastern part of that country, and “the Rapid Support Forces (RSF, paramilitary) in Sudan, which have been credibly accused of serious human rights violations.”
Abu Dhabi consistently denies allegations that it is interfering in the internal affairs of these two countries.
The deterioration of relations between the two countries is also part of broader diplomatic differences between them. Algiers opposes the normalization of relations with Israel that Arab governments—including that of the UAE—have pursued at the urging of the United States.
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Source: KYPE
