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Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday downplayed speculation that the Biden administration has been rebuffed by the Middle East’s top oil nations as the US struggles to counter rising oil prices amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We all talk regularly,” the secretary said. “I spoke on the phone with my Emirati counterpart for quite some time,” he continued. “I met regularly with my Saudi counterpart, including in Munich, just a few weeks ago. President Biden spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia last month in a discussion that laid out a very broad agenda.”
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Secretary of State Anthony Blinken holds a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, in Washington. (Jim Watson, Pool via AP)
The question was asked following a Wednesday morning story by The Wall Street Journal alleging that leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been turning down calls to Biden in recent weeks. The report also said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite refusing to speak to Biden.
“There was some waiting for a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a US official reportedly said of a scheduled conversation between Saudi Prince Mohammed and Biden. “It was part of turning on the faucet [of Saudi oil].”
The US and its NATO allies have sought to enlist Ukraine’s support as Russia continues its deadly invasion into its second week.
Biden announced on Tuesday a ban on imports of Russian oil, gas and coal in another attempt to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal war of choice”.
The UK has said it will gradually stop relying on Russian oil by the end of 2022, and the European Union has said it will also cut Russian oil imports. its oil needs come from Moscow, while the US gets roughly 3%.
At a joint press conference with Blinken on Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss urged other countries to “support our efforts on sanctions.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Moscow, February 14, 2022. (ALEKSEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
“One hundred and forty-one countries voted against Russian aggression,” she said. “We will end strategic dependence on authoritarian regimes for our energy and other vital resources. And we will intensify our work to build economic and security alliances around the world, including with India and the Gulf states, to further isolate Russia.”
Gas prices hit record highs this week and are expected to continue rising globally as efforts are renewed to target the Russian economy through its main source of income, oil production.
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But Blinken suggested on Wednesday that despite the reluctance of the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+) to increase oil production last year against the backdrop of a seven-year high, OPEC member UAE may reconsider.
“I think it was very recently announced – I’m not sure if it was made publicly – about Emirates support for increased production when it comes to OPEC+,” Blinken said. “Which, in my opinion, is important for stabilizing global energy markets to ensure an abundance of energy supplies around the world.”