West News Wire: On Sunday, Russia congratulated OPEC+ for agreeing to drastically reduce oil production in order to combat what it called the “mayhem” the United States had planted in the world’s energy markets.
The 13-nation OPEC+ group’s decision to reduce oil output in the face of US opposition has increased the gulf between President Joe Biden and the royal family of Saudi Arabia.
The efforts of the US should be resisted by such “balanced, deliberate, and planned work of the nations that adopt a responsible posture within OPEC,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian news outlets reported that Peskov added, “This at least balances the mayhem that the Americans are producing.”
The White House for months has engaged in diplomatic efforts to dissuade its Middle Eastern allies from cutting oil production.
Biden hopes to keep US petrol prices from spiking again ahead of November’s elections, in which his Democratic Party is struggling to maintain control of Congress.
Peskov said the US had begun to lose its composure over the OPEC decision and was trying to push additional volumes of its oil reserves onto the market.
“Such a game will not lead to anything good,” Peskov said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday that the OPEC+ decision was “short-sighted” as the global economy was still languishing from “the continued negative impact of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”.
“It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia,” Jean-Pierre said.
On Wednesday, OPEC+ agreed its deepest cuts to oil production since the COVID-19 pandemic began, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the US and others to pump more.
The 13-nation OPEC cartel, plus 10 allies led by Moscow, agreed at a meeting in Vienna to slash output by two million barrels per day starting in November.
