The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, has refuted reports that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, had privately derided President of the United States Joe Biden or told aides that he was unimpressed by Biden and preferred former President of the United States Donald Trump.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal that was published on Monday, Prince Faisal was asked about charges made by unnamed sources. He stated that all of these allegations are completely incorrect.
He added that because of the importance that the kingdom places on having a relationship with the United States that is founded on mutual respect, the leaders of the kingdom have always shown the utmost regard for the presidents of that country.
The defense of the crown prince, also known as MBS, by the foreign minister comes at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States have been tense ever since the Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel announced an enormous oil production cut earlier this month to shore up oil prices despite pressure from the United States.
On October 11, Vice President Joe Biden issued a warning to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, that there would be “consequences” as a result of production cuts. These cuts came as the world struggles to deal with high energy prices as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. Biden said that there would be “consequences” as a result of the production cuts.
The agreement made by OPEC+, which includes Russia, has the effect of undermining the efforts of Western countries to place a ceiling on the price of Russian oil as a reaction to Moscow’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
Democratic Party leaders are furious that the decision to reduce production was announced just one month before the crucial midterm elections that are scheduled to take place the following month. They have asked the White House to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to reverse their decision.
It has been stated by Saudi Arabia that the production cut of two million barrels per day was not done to drive up prices. It was stated that the action was made to help stabilize the price of oil.
In the meantime, on Tuesday, the Saudi investment minister Khalid al-Falih stated that his country would “get past this recent quarrel” with Washington, which he characterized as being unwarranted. He added that both nations were “strong allies” in the long run.
