DUBAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Algeria decided to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after what it described as the “exhaustion of all means to preserve bilateral ties”, Algerian state media said on Thursday, without giving details of the reason for the move.
The UAE Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Algerian media outlets have in the past sharply criticised the UAE, accusing it of seeking to sow regional discord.
Last year, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said his country’s relations with all Gulf states were warm except for one, in a thinly veiled reference to the UAE. He described ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as “brotherly”, while accusing the unnamed country of meddling in Algeria’s internal affairs and seeking to destabilise it.
Tensions escalated further in February, when Algeria began the process of cancelling an air services agreement with the UAE that was signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Alex Richardson and Peter Graff)
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