ALGIERS: Algeria on Thursday announced that it had decided to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accusing Abu Dhabi of carrying out a series of “provocative or hostile” actions despite repeated warnings.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry said the UAE’s actions had reached a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable, adding that Algiers had “exhausted all means of preserving bilateral relations”.

According to the ministry, the UAE ambassador was summoned and formally informed of the decision. He was given 48 hours to comply with the measure.

The UAE Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Relations between Algeria and the UAE have deteriorated in recent years, with Algerian media outlets repeatedly criticising Abu Dhabi and accusing it of attempting to fuel regional tensions.

The two countries have also adopted differing positions on several key regional issues.

Algeria opposes normalisation with Israel, while the UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020. Algeria’s regional rival Morocco also normalised ties with Israel under the same agreements.

Algiers and Abu Dhabi are further divided over the decades-old Western Sahara dispute. The UAE supports Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the disputed territory and has a consulate there, while Algeria backs the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara.

Their interests have increasingly intersected in the Sahel region, where the UAE has expanded relations with several governments in recent years. Algeria, meanwhile, has faced increasingly strained ties with some of its southern neighbours following a series of military coups.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said last year that Algeria maintained warm relations with all Gulf states except one, in an apparent reference to the UAE.

Tebboune described Algeria’s relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as “brotherly”, while accusing the unnamed Gulf state of interfering in Algeria’s internal affairs and seeking to destabilise the country.

In February, Algeria also began the process of cancelling an air services agreement with the UAE that had been signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013.

The latest decision marks a major deterioration in relations between Algiers and Abu Dhabi and further highlights their widening differences over regional political and security issues.