West News Wire: Following the announcement of significant reduction in oil output by OPEC+ producers over American concerns, Turkey accused the United States of intimidating its partner Saudi Arabia.
OPEC+ recently announced that, despite pressure from the US and other countries to raise output, it would reduce daily oil production by two million barrels starting in November.
Following the OPEC+ decision, President Joe Biden stated last week that “there would be consequences” for American ties with Saudi Arabia.
“We note that a nation, particularly recently, has threatened Saudi Arabia. At a news conference in southern Turkey on Friday, foreign minister Mevlüt Avuşolu remarked, “This bullying is wrong.
“We don’t think it’s right for the US to use it as an element of pressure on Saudi Arabia or any other country in this way.”
The US is eager to see Saudi Arabia and OPEC partners pump more oil to help bring down the high cost of petrol and ease the highest US inflation rate in 40 years.
The Riyadh-led OPEC cartel and an additional group of 10 other oil producers headed by Russia decided to reduce global output next month. The move is expected to lead to higher oil prices, which would help Russia pay for its war in Ukraine.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan has said the OPEC+ decision was purely economic and taken unanimously by its member states.
The kingdom also denied it was taking sides over Russia’s invasion of Western-backed Ukraine, insisting it had maintained a “principled position” in support of international law.
Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, recently said he was “astonished” by accusations that the kingdom was “standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine”.
