Following multiple ‘warning’ statements and accusations by the US government after the OPEC+ decided to reduce oil production by over 2 million barrels a day recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has issued a strong statement clarifying that decisions by OPEC+ countries are not the decision by one member country and are based on the economic interests of all member nations.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the statements issued about the Kingdom following the OPEC+ decision. pic.twitter.com/Bo7JVPDzFo
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) October 12, 2022
The Kingdom has indirectly confirmed that the US administration had indeed tried to pressurise the OPEC+ states to obtain a consensus to postpone the decision to reduce oil production for a month, till Biden’s midterm elections are over. Asserting that the decision of OPEC+ to cut oil production was taken unanimously by all member nations, Saudi Arabia has clarified that the USA’s accusation that Saudi Arabia was taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict is totally baseless.
Affirming that OPEC+ decisions are taken to balance the supply and demand of the oil market and facilitate the economic interests of the member nations, Saudi Arabia has added that they had conveyed to the US government that their request to postpone the oil cut was not sustainable and would have made the market volatile.
Saudi Arabia has rejected the USA’s accusations of taking sides and has affirmed that the Kingdom calls for adherence to the UN charter and principles of International law, and does not support the infringement of another country’s territory. It has also hinted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia values relations with other nations but it won’t be dictated by the USA.
In the end, the statement by the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry states that they value their relations with the USA and desire that it is based on the pillars of mutual respect, and active cooperation to further common interests to bring prosperity for the people of both countries.
The US has been issuing inflammatory statements against Saudi Arabia over oil cut
It is notable here that on October 5, the OPEC+ nations declared that they will be reducing oil production by over 2 million barrels a day. The Biden administration had tried a lot to convince the OPEC+ nations, especially Saudi Arabia, to postpone this decision, unsuccessfully, reportedly because President Joe Biden is facing midterms soon and an increase in oil prices can adversely impact his political prospects.
After the oil cut decision was taken, the US government, through various statements, had accused Saudi Arabia of ‘favouring Russia’ and had even warned it of sanctions. Joe Biden even said that there will be ‘consequences’ for Saudi Arabia. He had called that the decision was ‘against’, the American people. Biden is facing mid-term polls in November, and high oil prices may affect him badly.
Democratic Party leaders in the USA have been advocating for cutting all ties with Saudi Arabia.
Frictions between the Biden administration and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been apparent for quite some time. Earlier, it was reported that Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, had refused to take Biden’s calls regarding oil production after the USA imposed crippling sanctions on Russia.
