(Riyadh) Saudi Arabia again defended the “purely economic” decision of oil-exporting countries to cut production, saying it was “stunned” by accusations of political collusion with Russia, especially coming from the powerful American partner.
Posted at 1:01 p.m.
On October 5, OPEC+ — the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia and their 10 partners led by Russia — decided to slash its production quotas, in order to support crude prices which were falling.
An increase in prices would also help fill the coffers of Russia, which relies on its sales of hydrocarbons to finance its war in Ukraine, a country it invaded in February.
The United States warned that there would be “consequences” to the OPEC+ decision and criticized the Saudis for providing Russia with “economic” support, but also “moral and military” support.
We are stunned by accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Defense Sunday evening on Twitter
According to him, the OPEC+ decision “was taken unanimously” and for “purely economic reasons”.
“Iran is also a member of OPEC, does that mean the kingdom also sides with Iran? “, he quipped. Tehran and Riyadh are the two big rivals in the Middle East.
King Salman himself defended his country’s “energy strategy” and its “central role” within OPEC+, during a speech on Sunday evening, broadcast by the official media.
He stressed that this was to “support the stability and balance of global markets”.
Asked Monday on CNN, the spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington, Fahad Nazer, also underlined the economic nature of the decision of the cartel, dictated “strictly by the fundamentals of the market”.
The Saudi diplomat stressed the importance of Saudi-American relations, recalling that the two countries had cooperated to repel the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and, more recently, to fight the Islamic State jihadist group.
We certainly see the United States as our strongest partner. This has been the case for 80 years. And it is by far our most important strategic partnership.
Fahad Nazer, Spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington
Partners of the United States and close allies of Saudi Arabia in the Gulf, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have also defended the OPEC+ decision.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced on CNN on Sunday that US President Joe Biden has “no intention” of meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. , at the G20 summit in November in Indonesia.
According to him, Mr. Biden wants to “reassess” relations with the Saudis “because they have taken the side of Russia against the interests of the American people”.