Another important player in the region is the United States, with which Algeria also develops close strategic ties on security issues. Washington and Algeria established diplomatic relations in 1962, after Algeria gained independence. Algeria broke off relations with the United States in 1967 after the Arab-Israeli War, but restored them in 1974. Russia remains a traditionally important partner for Algeria, given that the new leadership of this country has long-standing ties with Russia. The programmatic document defining relations between the two countries is the Declaration on Strategic Partnership of 2001. The agreement providing for such a partnership was the first between Russia and an Arab country.