Tension rises between the US and Saudi Arabia over oil production

The tension continues to rise between Saudi Arabia Y USAwhich had particularly tough exchanges on Thursday over oil production and, more broadly, over Riyadh’s attitude toward Moscow.

The Saudis responded, in a rare statement, to criticism from the United States, which accuses them of having cut black gold production to “line” with the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“Saudi Arabia viewed the statements … which described the decision as the kingdom’s taking a stand on international conflicts and as politically motivated against the United States.”the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Riyadh expressed his “complete rejection” to the US accusations, and assured that the decisions of the cartel of crude oil exporters and their allies “based purely on economic considerations.”

Opec+, which brings together the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia, and 10 partners led by Russia, decided last week to cut their production quotas to support crude oil prices.

“Wrong direction”

US President Joe Biden warned that there will be “impact” for this decision, which could favor Russia by supporting or boosting prices. Moscow needs your oil revenues to finance its war in Ukraine.

Riyadh, for its part, said that the United States “He suggested” postpone for a month the decision of Opec +, which could also raise the price of gasoline, and therefore annoy US voters.

In short, Saudi Arabia is saying that the White House has asked it to wait until the November 8 midterm elections, which are decisive in determining control of Congress and thus the remainder of Biden’s term, are over.

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Washington’s response to the Saudi statement was swift and especially strong.

“The Saudi Foreign Ministry may try to misrepresent or divert (attention), but the facts are simple,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

“In recent weeks, the Saudis have made it clear to us, privately and publicly, that they intended to reduce oil production, knowing that this would increase Russia’s revenue and mitigate the impact of sanctions (against Moscow for the war). This is the wrong direction.” he claimed.

And he emphasized: “They could easily have waited for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed.”

Asked about Riyadh’s position, Biden told reporters in Los Angeles on Thursday: “We’re about to talk to them.”

“Forced to support”

“Other OPEC countries told us privately that they also opposed the Saudi decision, but felt compelled to support it.” Riyadh’s strategy, accused Kirby on his side.

He added that Washington “will continue to monitor any signal about (Riyadh’s) position in response to Russian aggression” against Ukraine.

Biden recently promised that “will reevaluate” the long strategic relationship between the two countries, which is based on a simple principle: Saudi Arabia feeds the oil market, and in return the United States guarantees its security, in particular through massive arms sales.

The US president visited Saudi Arabia in July to reaffirm this principle, and the White House therefore saw the OPEC+ decision as a diplomatic affront.

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This visit, and the fist-bumping salute with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, becomes increasingly costly politically for the 79-year-old Democratic president, who promised during his election campaign to reduce Saudi Arabia to the rank of “pariah” after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Many Democratic lawmakers are calling for massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia to be frozen. The White House, however, has not specified so far what the “impact” mentioned by Biden.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.