The energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine War has led states to different pursuits. Many governments have sought to diversify their cooperation dynamics and partnerships. In this process, the international importance and visibility of some countries and regions have increased. The rise of Central Asian geography in global politics is an example of this situation. On the other hand, in North Africa, it is seen that perceptions towards Algeria differ and the competition over the country has reached new dimensions. The country is one of Europe’s major gas suppliers. Therefore, its importance has increased with the energy crisis. However, Algeria has recently come to the fore with its foreign policy decisions.
The most striking development in this regard is the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 1, 2023 that Algeria is one of the leading candidates to join the BRICS. Also, Lavrov; He stated that many countries made official requests to join the group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He used the following statements about Algeria’s candidacy:[1]
“As a first step we will agree on criteria, parameters and conditions for the admission of new members to our group. Algeria is one of the leaders among candidates with all its qualities.”
Algeria applied to join the BRICS in November 2022.[2] The country, which is the largest natural gas importer in Africa, not only with its BRICS membership; It also draws attention with its attitude towards the Russia-Ukraine War. The country does not participate in sanctions against Russia. It also abstained from the vote of the resolution condemning the war at the United Nations (UN) in March 2022. Later, he took an impartial stance at the UN.[3]
Russia is the main arms supplier and strategic partner of Algeria. Algeria bought a total of $7 billion worth of weapons from Russia in 2021 alone. In this context, the country has purchased advanced Russian warplanes, including the Sukhoi 57. This purchase has made Algeria the 3rd largest buyer of Russian arms in the world.[4] In May 2022, Lavrov made a visit to Algeria. Thus, the rapprochement between the two countries has increased even more.
Standing out with its close stance to BRICS and its membership application, Algeria has signed agreements with China to expand initiatives within the scope of the Belt-Road Project in the fields of infrastructure and energy.[5] At the same time, it can be said that the French influence in the country has been replaced by Chinese influence. As a matter of fact, in November 2022, the Second Five-Year Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement was signed between Beijing and Algeria for the period 2022-2026.[6]
Therefore, the policy of the United States of America (USA) with Algeria is incompatible with both its global struggle with China and its attitude towards Russia. This situation brought about the counter moves of the USA. For example, on September 30, 2022, 27 members of the US Congress called for “urgent” action to impose sanctions on the Algerian Government regarding the purchase of Russian weapons.
In this context, the proposal to operate the CAATSA sanctions came to the fore.[7] The consensus of opinion of US politicians on this issue is also remarkable. This situation is very important in terms of showing the importance of Algeria’s current position and geopolitical importance in American foreign policy.
Russia’s response to this move of the USA was also included in Lavrov’s discourse. On February 1, 2023, Lavrov stated that the US is trying to “punish” Algeria for not participating in anti-Russian sanctions; but he stated that he was on the wrong track. He also stated that no dictation could be made to the Algerians.[8] In this context, it can be said that Algeria constitutes a new phase of the US-Russian struggle.
On the other hand, Algeria also makes energy agreements with Western countries. This situation also explains the country’s preference for a neutral stance towards the Ukraine War. The West, which is experiencing an energy crisis, is trying to increase its partnership with Algeria and is taking various steps for this. Algeria also wants to seize this opportunity and increase its importance. Therefore, the country signs energy agreements with Western actors. It can be said that Russia is not satisfied with this situation. However, the fact that it is a major arms buyer and has important ties ensures that Moscow’s stance towards Algeria remains relatively soft. At this point, it can be stated that Algeria aims to turn its geopolitical, geostrategic and geoeconomic capacity into an opportunity as well as being a competitive field. Therefore, it can be argued that Algeria is trying to display a balanced attitude.
On December 20, 2022, Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach and German gas company VNG AG signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the first green hydrogen plant in the North African country. With the project, Algeria aims to benefit from Germany’s experience in the field of new and renewable energies.[9] In addition, on 22 December 2022, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that his country is offering spare electricity capacity to Europe and is planning a 270 km submarine pipeline towards Italy.[10]
In addition, an agreement has been made between the Algerian company Sonatrach and the Italian Energy company Eni. Accordingly, Algeria will export 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Rome by 2024.7.[11] On the other hand, the country’s participation in the USA-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in December 2022 at the Prime Minister level instead of the President can be read as a reflection of the aforementioned balanced attitude. Undoubtedly, this participation can be interpreted as a message to Washington.[12]
At the current stage, Algeria is increasing its international influence by developing energy agreements with European countries; On the other hand, it is advancing its relations with Russia. Its ties with China are also important within the scope of the US-China rivalry. However, the BRICS decision has brought the country a little closer to the Russia-China bilateral relationship. 11% of all-natural gas consumed in Europe[13] by Algeria, which has become an increasingly critical player in the West-Russian rivalry, is becoming more and more critical.
Algeria is an important component for the West and the USA, which are in an effort to produce an alternative to Russian energy. This location gives the country an advantage over Washington. Therefore, Algeria may want to use this situation by making some demands from Washington. This, in turn, may have a shaping effect on the US policy towards the region. However, as a result of entering the BRICS membership process and arms deals with Russia, Washington may apply for a sanction card against Algeria.
[1] “Algeria is One of Most Plausible Candidates to Join BRICS-Lavrov”, TASS, https://tass.com/politics/1570171, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[2] “Algeria Officially Applies to join BRICS Bloc”, Anadolu Agency, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/algeria-officially-applies-to-join-brics-bloc/2731976, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[3] “Algeria Abstains From UN Vote Condemning Russia’s Annexations in Ukraine”, Morocco World News, https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/10/351809/algeria-abstains-from-un-vote-condemning-russias-annexations-in-ukraine, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[4] “Russian Arms: US Members of Congress Call for Sanctions on Algeria”, Morocco World News, https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/09/351595/russian-arms-us-members-of-congress-call-for-sanctions-on-algeria, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[5] “How Algeria Became Indispensable”, Foreign Policy, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/11/algeria-energy-oil-brics-russia-china/, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[6] “Algeria, China Sign 2nd Five-Year Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Plan 2022-2026”, MFA, https://www.mfa.gov.dz/en/press-and-information/news-and-press-releases/algeria-china-sign-2nd-five-year-comprehensive-strategic-cooperation-plan-2022-2026, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[7] “Russian Arms…”, op.cit.
[8] “US Trying to Dictate Policy to Algeria but ‘Messed With the Wrong Person’-Lavrov”, TASS, https://tass.com/russias-foreign-policy/1570191, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[9] “Algeria, Germany sign MoU to build 50MW hydrogen plant”, Arab News, https://www.arabnews.com/node/2219361/business-economy, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[10] “Algeria Suggests to Sell Spare Electricity Capacity to Europe-President”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/algeria-suggests-sell-spare-electricity-capacity-europe-president-2022-12-23/, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[11] “Italy PM Signs Algeria Gas Deals to Reduce Russia reliance”, The New Arab, https://www.newarab.com/news/italy-pm-signs-algeria-gas-deals-reduce-russia-reliance, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[12] “Bolstering U.S.-Algeria Relations Amid the Africa Leaders Summit”, The Washington Institute, https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/bolstering-us-algeria-relations-amid-africa-leaders-summit, (Date of Accession: 02.02.2023).
[13] “A Newly Assertive Algeria Seizes an Opportunity”, USIP, https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/01/newly-assertive-algeria-seizes-opportunity, (Date of Accession: 03.02.2023).
