Download
Saudi Arabia 'maturer guys' in spat with U.S., energy minister says
CGTN
File photo: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman gestures during a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, October 5, 2022. /CFP
File photo: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman gestures during a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, October 5, 2022. /CFP

File photo: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman gestures during a press conference after the 45th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, October 5, 2022. /CFP

Saudi Arabia decided to be the "maturer guys" in a spat with the United States over oil supplies, the kingdom's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday.

The decision by the OPEC+ oil producer group led by Saudi Arabia this month to cut oil output targets unleashed a war of words between the White House and Riyadh ahead of the kingdom's Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum, which drew top U.S. business executives.

When asked at the FII forum how the energy relationship with the United States could be put back on track after the cuts and with the December 5 deadline for the expected price-cap on Russian oil, the Saudi energy minister said, "I think we as Saudi Arabia decided to be the maturer guys and let the dice fall."

"We keep hearing 'you are with us or against us', is there any room for 'we are with the people of Saudi Arabia'?"

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier that Riyadh and Washington will get over their "unwarranted" spat, highlighting long-standing corporate and institutional ties.

"If you look at the relationship with the people side, the corporate side, the education system, you look at our institutions working together we are very close and we will get over this recent spat that I think was unwarranted," he said.

While noting that Saudi Arabia and the United States were "solid allies" in the long term, he highlighted the kingdom was "very strong" with Asian partners including China, which is the biggest importer of Saudi hydrocarbons.

The OPEC+ cut has raised concerns in Washington about the possibility of higher gasoline prices ahead of the November U.S. midterm elections, with the Democrats trying to retain their control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

U.S. President Joe Biden pledged that "there will be consequences" for U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ move.

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the kingdom's ambassador to Washington, said in a CNN interview that Saudi Arabia was not siding with Russia and engages with "everybody across the board."

"And by the way, it's okay to disagree. We've disagreed in the past, and we've agreed in the past, but the important thing is recognizing the value of this relationship," she said.

She added that "a lot of people talk about reforming or reviewing the relationship" and said that was "a positive thing" as Saudi Arabia "is not the kingdom it was five years ago."

(Source: Reuters with edits)

Search Trends