Algerian Head of Government urges US Ambassador not to interfere in Algeria's internal affairs

In a declaration to the press outside the 11th UGTA Congress now being held in Algiers, the Algerian head of government Abdellaziz Belkhadem urged the US Ambassador, accredited to Algeria, to stop interfering in Algeria's domestic affairs in the aftermath of recent ‘excesses’ on the part of the US diplomatic corps posted in Algiers.

Mr Belkhadem exhorted US Ambassador Robert Ford to scrupulously abide by the diplomatic practices governing relations between sovereign states around the world.

Mr Belkhadem warning statement came in the wake of a series of encounters organized by the US embassy in Algiers with leaders of Algerian political parties and associations to discuss the situation in Algeria .

Such meetings were firmly castigated by the Algerian authorities describing them as totally contrary to normal diplomatic practices between two sovereign states.