Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman expressed his surprise at accusing Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Prince Khaled on Sunday took to Twitter and wrote, “We are surprised that the Kingdom is accused of standing with Russia in its war against Ukraine. These false accusations did not come from the government of Ukraine.”
In another context, related to OPEC+’s decision to reduce oil production, Prince Khalid bin Salman said that the “OPEC” decision was taken unanimously and for purely economic motives.
He continued, “Iran is also a member of OPEC, so does this mean that the Kingdom has stood by Iran as well?”
During the past days, US accusations of Saudi Arabia escalated to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, after the decision of the “OPEC +” alliance led by Riyadh and Moscow, to reduce crude oil production, on October 5.
OPEC + decision angers America
It is worth noting that on October 5, 2022, the OPEC+ alliance announced a reduction in its member states’ oil production by two million barrels per day, starting from November 2022, in a move that angered Washington, which considered it a “short-sighted” decision.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry commented on Washington’s statements that it does not accept any kind of dictation, and rejects any actions aimed at altering the goals it seeks to protect the global economy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, Thursday, October 13, “The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would like at the outset to express its complete rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and mainly rely on trying to portray the OPEC+ decision outside its purely economic framework, a decision that was taken unanimously by all countries of the OPEC+ group.”
Biden will reassess relations with Saudi Arabia
Earlier on Sunday, October 16, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced that President Joe Biden would re-evaluate his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia for standing by Russia against US interests, he said.
Sullivan said in a statement to CNN, “Biden will not make any decision on the future of the relationship with Saudi Arabia unilaterally and will consult members of Congress from both parties to work jointly,” adding, “We have many options for our new approach with Saudi Arabia, including security assistance.”
US official also confirmed that there are no plans for President Biden to meet the Saudi crown prince at the G-20 summit to be held in November.
