Saudi’s relations with the US are “strategic”, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said, stressing that the OPEC+ decision to cut production is a “purely economic” issue.
This came in statements he made to the Al Arabiya TV channel in light of US criticism and calls to re-evaluate relations with the kingdom after its support for reducing oil production, which angered Washington.
Prince Faisal said: “There are no political aspects to the OPEC + decision, and we are not looking at any political explanations for it,” stressing that “the relationship with Washington is strategic and supportive of the security and stability of the region.”
“The military cooperation between Riyadh and Washington serves the interests of both countries and has contributed to the stability of the region. Our relationship with the United States has been institutionalised since it was established.”
Spokesman for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that President Joe Biden would work with Congress “to think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward” after the OPEC+ alliance decided to reduce oil production.
Biden pledged yesterday that US relations with Saudi Arabia would face “consequences” after the OPEC+ group of oil producers announced, last week, production cuts despite American objections.
It came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the US must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.
READ: US Senator calls on Washington to ‘freeze’ cooperation with Saudi Arabia following OPEC+ agreement
(function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
