Algeria severs diplomatic relations with United Arab Emirates

Algeria on Thursday said it was severing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, saying it had exhausted "all means" of preserving bilateral ties.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by the official Algeria Press Service (APS), said Algiers exercised “a high degree of restraint” and “a strong sense of responsibility” in response to increasingly “provocative or hostile actions” by the UAE.

“Algeria spared no effort, in a spirit of full respect for the principles governing relations between states, to draw the UAE side’s attention and warn it of the serious consequences that could result from its regrettable and unjustified conduct,” the statement said.

“Despite these repeated warnings, the UAE continued with these actions, which reached a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable within relations between two sovereign states or left without a response.”

“After exhausting all avenues to preserve bilateral relations, the Algerian government decided today to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates,” the ministry said.

It added that the UAE ambassador was received at the ministry in Algiers on Thursday and was officially notified of the decision. He has been given 48 hours to comply with the decision.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE on the Algerian decision.