Saudi Arabia has hit back at the United States in the ongoing geopolitical row over a decision made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to cut oil production.
The group, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut supply by 2 minion barrels a day. The decision was labeled as “shortsighted” by U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden promised there would be consequences for U.S.-Saudi relations.
Saudi Arabia has responded to the backlash, saying that postponing the decision to cut supplies would have been negative for the world.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry released a statement today denying the claims that Riyadh was taking sides in international conflicts, or had supported the oil cuts for political reasons against the U.S.
“The Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US Administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,” the statement said.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir went as far as to strike a bullish tone in his statement for CNN, stressing that Saudi Arabia does not see or use oil as a weapon.
OPEC+ announced the production target after weeks of lobbying by U.S. officials against such a move. The United States accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Russia, which objects to a Western cap on the price of Russian oil in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. officials had been quietly trying to persuade its biggest Arab ally to abandon the idea of a production cut, but the nation was not swayed.
Saudi Arabia has rejected criticism over the decision to cut oil supplies. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the OPEC+ decision was purely economic and was taken unanimously by its member states.
It comes after Biden vowed consequences for the oil-rich nation.
Biden’s announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.
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