Algeria says cutting diplomatic ties with UAE

Algeria announced on Thursday that it would terminate all diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, delivering a formal summons to the Emirati ambassador and a 48‑hour deadline for compliance. The foreign ministry framed the move as the conclusion of “exhausted” attempts to preserve a bilateral relationship that had become untenable after what it called a series of “provocative or hostile” actions by Abu Dhabi.

The fallout did not appear out of the blue. Over the past few years the UAE has funded and armed actors that Algiers views as destabilising forces across the Sahel, Libya and Sudan. In Libya the Emirati government backed Khalifa Haftar’s eastern army, a partnership that also funneled support to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, accused of genocide in that country’s civil war. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune repeatedly labelled the Emirates a “micro‑state” and a “midget state”, warning that wherever Emirati money flows, “blood flows” and urging the Gulf power to stay away from Algerian soil.

Algeria’s grievances are also rooted in divergent foreign‑policy tracks. While the UAE embraced the Abraham Accords and opened diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, Algiers maintains a hardline opposition to any normalisation. In the Western Sahara dispute, the UAE backs Morocco’s claim – maintaining a consulate in the contested territory – whereas Algeria continues to support the Polisario Front’s independence bid.

Security scholar Andreas Krieg notes that the rupture is less about a single diplomatic incident than about a shifted Algerian reading of the UAE’s regional playbook.

What remains unclear is the precise trigger that pushed Algiers from diplomatic protest to full severance. The ministry cited “hostile actions” without enumerating them, leaving analysts to piece together a mosaic of proxy wars, economic competition and ideological rifts. How the break will reshape alliances – whether it drives the UAE closer to Morocco and Saudi Arabia or forces Algeria to seek new partners in Europe or Africa – is an open question that regional observers will watch closely.