Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with UAE and closes airspace to its aircraft
Algeria has cut diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates and closed its airspace to civilian and military aircraft registered in the UAE. This was reported by Euronews.
Aviation restrictions
Algeria’s Ministry of Defence said the flight ban for Emirati aircraft was due to take effect on Friday. At the same time, commercial flights to and from Algiers airport were permitted to operate until the end of 2026.
In its statement on severing diplomatic relations, Algeria accused the UAE of “provocative and hostile actions.” However, the country’s authorities did not specify the immediate reason for the decision.
Algerian authorities also gave the UAE ambassador 48 hours to comply with the decision and leave the country. Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said the decision was made after all possibilities for preserving bilateral relations had been exhausted and after repeated warnings to Abu Dhabi.
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Positions of the sides
The UAE Foreign Ministry expressed regret over Algeria’s decision and said it hoped the measure would be temporary in order to preserve the “brotherly ties” between the two countries.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously repeatedly criticised the UAE. In particular, in a television interview in July, he called the Emirates a “microstate” that, he said, seeks to destabilise countries in the region, and mentioned the conflicts in Libya, Mali and Sudan.
According to Euronews, tensions between Algeria and the UAE had been escalating for several years. Algeria viewed the Emirates’ actions in North Africa and the Sahel as contradicting its foreign policy principles and posing an indirect threat to the country’s security. The disagreements were also linked to the UAE’s normalisation of relations with Israel in 2020.
