Saudi Arabia has rejected criticism that it was taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that the OPEC+’s decision to cut crude production was politically motivated against the US.
“The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has viewed the statements issued about the kingdom following the OPEC+ decision announced on October 5, 2022, which have described the decision as the kingdom taking sides in international conflicts and that it was politically motivated against the US,” a Saudi foreign ministry official said in a statement.
The statement also reiterated the Saudi Arabian government’s stand that it views its relationship with the US as a strategic one that serves the common interests of both countries.
“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would first like to express its 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 kingdom affirms 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 Saudi foreign ministry statement said.
The statement said the OPEC+ meeting outcomes were based purely on economic considerations that take into account maintaining balance of supply and demand in the oil markets, as well as to limit volatility that does not serve the interests of consumers and producers.
“This has always been the case within OPEC+,” the statement said.
The OPEC+ group makes its decisions independently in accordance with established independent practices followed by the international organisations, the statement said.
“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 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.
“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirms that any attempts to distort the facts about the kingdom’s position regarding the crisis in Ukraine are unfortunate, and will not change the kingdom’s principled position, including its vote to support UN resolutions regarding the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” the statement said.
It said the country’s stand on the Russia-Ukrainian conflict was based on its position on the importance for all countries to adhere to the UN Charter, principles of international law, and the kingdom’s rejection of any infringement on the sovereignty of countries over their territories.
“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.
“Resolving economic challenges requires the establishment of a non-politicised constructive dialogue, and to wisely and rationally consider what serves the interests of all countries,” the statement said.
On its ties with the US, the statement said Saudi Arabia stresses the importance of building on the solid pillars upon which the Saudi-US relationship had stood over the past eight decades. “These pillars include mutual respect, enhancing common interests, actively contributing to preserve regional and international peace and security, countering terrorism and extremism, and achieving prosperity for the peoples of the region,” it said.
Saudi Arabia’s reaction came in the wake of the US announcing that it would be reviewing its relationship with Saudi Arabia and talking of ‘consequences’ for the [OPEC+’] action.
Political analysts view the strong US statement because of its compulsion on the domestic front.
They said OPEC+’s move to cut its oil output by 2 million barrels a day could boost prices in the US market over the winter, a major political problem for Biden only a month before highly competitive mid-term elections.
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