Saudi officials confirmed that the “OPEC Plus” decision to cut production, which caused tension with the United States, is economic, stressing that the dispute with the United States on the energy file is “transient.”
The “OPEC Plus” group, made up of the thirteen member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia and its ten partners led by Russia, decided this month to reduce oil production quotas in order to support the falling crude prices.
The White House considered that the decision to cut production, which is in Moscow’s interest, means that Riyadh decided to stand by Russia, while Washington is trying to deprive it of its sources of income, especially in the energy sector, in response to its attack on Ukraine.
The Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said, in a speech within the activities of the sixth edition of the “Future Investment Initiative Conference” held in Riyadh, on Tuesday, that the Kingdom is communicating “with many European governments regarding the current crisis,” noting that “the current crisis may It would be the worst energy crisis.”
He added that “it is not about the recession, but about the severity of the recession.”
He pointed out that “Saudi Arabia is the most reliable supplier of oil,” stressing, “Aramco was supplying Europe last year with 490,000 barrels, but last September the quantity amounted to 950,000 barrels.”
When asked about the strained relations with Washington, the minister answered by saying that the kingdom had decided to be the “conscious party,” according to statements quoted by Reuters.
For his part, the Saudi Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, stressed in statements to the “Future Investment Initiative Conference”, Tuesday, that the dispute between Washington and Riyadh is “transient”, according to what was reported by “Bloomberg”.
“In the long-term we are strong allies … We will get through the recent disagreement, which I think was unjustified and I hope a misunderstanding,” Al-Falih told global executives, investors and Saudi government officials.
He noted the strong ties between the two countries in the areas of companies, education and people-to-people relations.
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, said in an interview with CNN that Riyadh and Washington have transgressed differences in the past, noting that the same will happen regarding the recent tension.
The young ambassador said, according to Excerpts from the interviewpublished by the channel’s announcer, Becky Anderson: “It is clear that we have reached the point of contention, and many people have tried to politicize this, but you hear it from the owners of the matter now. It is not political, but rather it is purely economic and is based on 40 or 50 years of experience mapping Attitudes. We don’t get involved in anyone’s politics. We participate simply as a balance of power and a stabilizing factor for the economy through the energy market as we have historically done.”
“Many people have tried to politicize this, but you’re hearing it from the horse’s mouth. This is not political.” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. @rbalsaud tells me in an exclusive interview that there is “clear disagreement” with DC over the OPEC+ deal. pic.twitter.com/mz29Dt6OhG
— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) October 25, 2022
And about the accusations leveled by the US administration against Saudi Arabia of “biasing with Russia” after the “OPEC Plus” move, the ambassador said in the interview, which will be broadcast in full later on Tuesday: “The kingdom has a policy of dealing with everyone, those with whom we agree, and those with whom we do not.” .
She stressed that it was the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Russia that allowed the release of prisoners of war, including Americans.
She added, “We look at our role as a mediator and interlocutor,” referring to the humanitarian support provided by Riyadh to Ukraine in terms of aid and refugee support, and said, “This is the value of our participation. Is this bias towards Russia? No.”
She stressed that “the disagreement is okay… We have disagreed in the past, and we have agreed in the past, but the important thing is to realize the value of this relationship.”
In response to a question about whether the Kingdom is able to do without the United States, she said: “The world cannot do without the relationship with the United States. There is no doubt about it. The United States is the United States, for 80 years it was our strategic ally, and for 80 years it was Our partner. I hear a lot of people talking about reforming or reviewing the relationship, and I actually think that’s a positive thing, this kingdom is not the kingdom it was 5 years ago, it’s not the kingdom it was 10 years ago.”
“So every analysis that was there before is no longer relevant. We are a young country, we have a young leadership. We have an ambition and a goal to engage with the world in a way we haven’t done before.”
Options Riyadh and Washington .. Will Saudi Arabia “sell” US Treasury bonds?
The Wall Street Journal says, in a lengthy report, discussing the deterioration of US-Saudi relations, that the decision of the Kingdom-led OPEC Plus to reduce oil production has increased US President Joe Biden’s determination to reconsider the strategic relationship between the two countries, and the direction appears to be on it. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, too.