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Saudis release a bombshell statement saying Biden has tried to delay oil production cuts until AFTER the midterms — in a desperate bid to prevent gas prices from rising again as Democrats stare at defeat
- Last week, OPEC+ announced it would cut oil production by two million barrels a day
- Cuts in production are already driving gas prices up – $3.91 is the average cost per gallon as of Thursday
- Russia, which depends on fuel exports to finance its invasion of Ukraine, will certainly benefit from higher prices
- On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm reports that the Biden administration had begged the Saudis to wait
- “I certainly can’t confirm that report,” he said
- Delaying the OPEC+ decision by a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences, Saudis said
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Saudi Arabia claimed that the White House had indeed asked them to delay their oil production cut until after the midterm elections, because it backtracked on claims the move was intended to help Russia.
Last week, OPEC+ announced it would cut oil production by two million barrels a day, a major blow to the Biden administration, which had been asking them for months to increase production instead. Production cuts are already pushing up gas prices – $3.91 is the average cost per gallon as of Thursday.
Russia, which depends on fuel exports to finance its invasion of Ukraine, will certainly benefit from higher prices.
“The government of the Kingdom has made it clear through ongoing consultations with the US administration that all economic analysis indicates that delaying the OPEC+ decision by one month would have had negative economic consequences, according to what has been suggested,” the Saudi said. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin. Farhan Al Saud said:
State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday declined to confirm reports that the Biden administration had begged the Saudis to wait and spare them political fallout in next month’s election.
‘I certainly can’t confirm that message. What I can confirm is that we have conveyed a consistent message to the Saudis: the energy supply must meet the energy demand. We have repeatedly pointed out that we have many interests in Saudi Arabia; energy is one of them,” says Price.
“And in the context of those discussions on energy, we have had high-ranking members of the government travel to Saudi Arabia in recent months. This wasn’t — this engagement didn’t just take place in the context of October 2022 or September 2022,” he added.
But a Saudi statement released hours later suggested the US was asking for at least a month’s delay.
Soldiers of the 5th Regiment of the Assault Infantry of Ukraine greet each other on a frontline near Toretsk in the Donetsk region on October 12, 2022
“The government of the Kingdom has made it clear through ongoing consultations with the US administration that all economic analysis indicates that delaying the OPEC+ decision by one month would have had negative economic consequences, according to what has been suggested,” the Saudi said. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin. said Farhan Al Saud.
It was never likely that such a request would have been granted, as it is widely believed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the cuts at least in part to thwart Biden and the Democrats in the midterm elections.
Biden himself had a controversial meeting with the crown prince in July, which began with a famous punch instead of a handshake.
After OPEC+ announced the decision, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the move a “mistake” and accused the Saudis of “joining Russia.”
The foreign minister said such an accusation is intended to “distort the facts” and claimed that Saudi Arabia has taken a “principal position” regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia first wishes to express its complete rejection of these statements that are not factual and which are based on depicting the OPEC+ decision from its purely economic context,” Bin Farhan Al Saud said in a statement. declaration. a statement.
The foreign minister said Saudi Arabia supports UN resolutions on the war and rejects “any encroachment on countries’ sovereignty over their territory.”
“The Kingdom emphasizes that while it strives to maintain the strength of its relations with all friendly countries, it affirms its rejection of any regulations, actions or attempts to achieve its noble objectives of protecting the global economy from the volatility of the oil market,” it said. Bin Farhan. said Al Saud.
The production cut infuriated lawmakers, who questioned why the US had sold arms to the nation in the Middle East and ignored its human rights violations and role in the war in Yemen if it had no intention of taking oil out of the deal.
Biden claimed Riyadh would face “consequences” as aides announced the US would re-evaluate its relationship with the Saudis.
“There will be some consequences for what they’ve done to Russia,” Biden said in a CNN interview that aired Tuesday night.
“I’m not going to go into what I would consider and what I have in mind,” he added. “But there will be—there will be consequences.”