DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Oct. 13 that the United States had suggested the kingdom postpone the resolution through OPEC and its allies, adding Russia, to cut oil production for a month. they have only helped the threat of a rise in gas costs ahead of the U. S. midterm elections. Next month’s U. S. policy.
A statement issued by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry did not mention in particular the Nov. 8 election in which U. S. President Joe Biden seeks to maintain his narrow Democratic majority in Congress. per month. In the end, OPEC announced the cuts at its Oct. 5 assembly in Vienna.
Withholding the cuts would have meant implementing them just before the election, at a time when they probably wouldn’t particularly influence pump costs.
(Peggy Smith/Transportation Issues)
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Rising oil costs, and by extension emerging fuel costs, have been a key driving force of inflation in the US. The U. S. and worldwide economic problems are compounded by the U. S. and around the world, as Russia’s months-long war with Ukraine has also disrupted the world’s food supply. For Biden, emerging fuel costs may be just voters. He and many lawmakers have warned that the longstanding security-based relationship between the United States and the kingdom could be reconsidered.
The White House has rejected any attempt to link OPEC’s request to the election, but Saudi Arabia issued a rare and lengthy report on how strained relations between the two countries are. He hesitated about a cut he called a “short-sighted decision. “
“It is categorically incorrect to link this to the American election,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said. Vladimir) Putin is waging his war against Ukraine. “
Ties between the two countries have been strained since the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who Washington says arrived on the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. to the West, which has armed and supported Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the kingdom had discussed with the United States the postponement of OPEC’s 2 million barrel cut announced last week.
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“The kingdom’s government has clarified in its ongoing consultation with the US leadership that all economic analyses imply that the postponement of OPEC’s resolution for one month, as suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,” the ministry said in its statement. .
The ministry showed the main points of a Wall Street Journal article this week that quoted unnamed Saudi officials as saying the United States was trying to delay OPEC production cuts just before the midterm elections. The newspaper quoted Saudi officials as describing the move as a political gamble through Biden. ahead of the vote.
The kingdom also criticized linking the kingdom’s resolution to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“The kingdom emphasizes that while striving to maintain the strength of its relations with all friendly countries, it affirms its rejection of any diktat, action or effort aimed at distorting its noble objectives of protecting the global economy from oil market volatility,” he said. . . ” Resolving demanding economic situations requires the status quo of a constructive discussion that is not politicized, and that with wisdom and rationality serves the interests of all countries. “
Saudi Arabia and neighboring the United Arab Emirates, top OPEC producers, voted in favor of a UN General Assembly solution on October 12 that condemns Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of 4 Ukrainian regions and its prompt cancellation is not easy.
Ever strong enough to avoid the U. S. oil embargo. UU. de the 1970s, OPEC needed non-members like Russia to impose a production cut in 2016 after costs collapsed below $30 a barrel amid emerging U. S. production. U. S. The 2016 deal gave rise to what’s known as OPEC, which joined the cartel by cutting production to increase costs.
The coronavirus pandemic briefly saw oil costs enter negative territory before air and economic activity recovered from global shutdowns. Benchmark Brent crude was above $92 a barrel at the start of Oct. 12, but oil-producing countries fear costs could fall sharply as a component of efforts to combat inflation.
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Biden, who called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in his 2020 election campaign, visited the kingdom in July and punched Prince Mohammed before a meeting. Despite the conscience, the kingdom has supported keeping oil costs high to fund Prince Mohammed’s aspirations, adding its $500 billion futuristic desert city allocation called Neom.
On October 11, Biden warned of the repercussions for Saudi Arabia of OPEC’s decision.
“There will be consequences for what they did with Russia,” Biden said. “I’m not going to get into what I would do and what I have in mind. But there will be, there will be consequences.
— Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
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