Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE

Algeria severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates on September 10, 2026, ordering the Emirati ambassador to leave within 48 hours. Algiers cited "provocative or hostile" actions by Abu Dhabi that exhausted all bilateral diplomatic options. The split follows years of escalating geopolitical friction over the UAE's normalization of ties with Israel, its support for Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara, and competing influence in the coup-strained Sahel region.

Algeria-UAE diplomatic severance

• ▪Algeria began the process of cancelling a May 2013 air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates in February 2026
• ▪Algeria summoned the United Arab Emirates ambassador on September 10, 2026, and gave the diplomat 48 hours to leave the country
• ▪Algeria severed diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates on September 10, 2026, stating it had exhausted all means of preserving bilateral relations

Western Sahara territorial dispute

• ▪The United Arab Emirates supports Morocco's claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara and maintains a consulate in the disputed territory
• ▪Algeria backs the Polisario Front, which seeks an independent Western Sahara against Morocco's territorial claims

UAE regional interference accusations

• ▪Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune characterized the United Arab Emirates as a statelet whose regional interventions have had a highly negative and violent impact
• ▪Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune accused an unnamed Gulf country, widely understood to be the United Arab Emirates, of meddling in Algeria's internal affairs and seeking to destabilize it

Sahel geopolitical competition

• ▪The United Arab Emirates has expanded its diplomatic and security ties with several governments in the Sahel region
• ▪Algeria's relations with its southern neighbors in the Sahel have become strained following a series of military coups in those countries

Debatable claims

• ▪Arab nations should normalize diplomatic relations with Israel
• ▪Algeria was justified in severing diplomatic ties with the UAE

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