Saudi Arabia affirms "rejection of any dictates" in response to US

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Oct 2022 09:47

Following US remarks on reevaluating ties, Saudi Arabia says it rejects statements criticizing the OPEC+ decision to cut the oil production target by two million barrels per day.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry

Saudi Arabia rejected on Thursday statements criticizing it after an OPEC+ decision last week to cut its oil production target despite US objections.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry cited one of its officials as saying "that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has viewed the statements issued about the Kingdom following the OPEC+ decision announced on October 5- 2012, which have described the decision as the Kingdom taking sides in international conflicts and that it was politically motived against the United States of America."

The Saudi official expressed the Saudi government's "total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context."

"This decision was taken unanimously by all member states of the OPEC+ group."

The Foreign Ministry official clarified that "the outcomes of the OPEC+ meetings are adopted through consensus among member states, and that they are not based on the unilateral decision by a single country."

The statement read that the OPEC+ outcomes "are based purely on economic considerations that take into account maintaining balance of supply and demand in the oil markets, as well as aim to limit volatility that does not serve the interests of consumers and producers."

It also explained that "postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences."

"The Kingdom stresses that while it strives to preserve the strength of its relations with all friendly countries, it affirms its rejection of any dictates, actions, or efforts to distort its noble objectives to protect the global economy from oil market volatility," the Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.

However, the statement indicated that Saudi Arabia views "its relationship with the United States of America as a strategic one that serves the common interests of both countries."

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

This comes after US President Joe Biden vowed this week that "there will be consequences" for US relations with Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ decision to cut its oil production target by two million barrels per day.

Prior to the decision, US officials reached out to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers with an appeal to delay the decision, according to people familiar with the conversations. However, the answer was nothing else than a resounding "no".

Biden, according to National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby, believes that the US should examine its relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of the OPEC+ decision "and take a look to see if that relationship is where it needs to be and that it is serving our national security interests." Kirby stated that the US President was willing to meet with members of Congress to discuss the bilateral relationship.