Algeria announced on Thursday that it was breaking diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying it had exhausted all possibilities to maintain bilateral ties, the Algerian state news agency reports.

Algerian authorities explained this decision by the UAE's increasingly "provocative or hostile" actions. Algeria said it had long tried to warn the Emirati side of the possible consequences of its behavior.

Despite repeated warnings, the UAE continued these actions, which reached a level that could no longer be considered acceptable within the framework of relations between two sovereign states, the statement said. The Algerian authorities stressed that they had done everything possible to maintain bilateral relations, but, in their assessment, Abu Dhabi's actions made further cooperation impossible.

As part of the decision to sever diplomatic relations, Algeria gave the UAE ambassador to the country 48 hours to comply with the relevant demand and conclude the diplomatic mission. The Algerian statement, however, did not specify which specific actions of the United Arab Emirates were the direct cause of the severance of diplomatic relations.