A newspaper analysis concluded.Washington PostThe American newspaper stated that Saudi Arabia’s decision to reduce oil production was painful for the United States, but it was not surprising, given that the communication between the administration of President Joe Biden and Riyadh was tainted by shortcomings.
Analysis writer Oliver Knox focused on Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia last July and how it failed to achieve its unstated goals of lowering energy prices.
President Biden expressed his “disappointment” with the OPEC + decision, and the White House described the decision as “short-sighted” and might have potentially far-reaching effects on the global economy and the US midterm elections, while some Democrats demanded a quick response.
The writer points out that the decision is an explicit rejection of what he described as American “beggings” aimed at pumping more oil into global markets instead of reducing quantities.
The analysis sees that the surprise is not in the decision itself, but rather in “the astonishment of American observers that Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia did not achieve its goals.”
The final result of Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia was the return of relations somewhat to their previous era with Riyadh, following they witnessed noticeable tension as a result of the promises of the US President, which he made during the election campaign, to make the Kingdom a “pariah” state, according to the analysis.
All of this may be regarding to change, as angry Democrats demand a reassessment of relations with Riyadh or even a retaliation for the decision to cut production, raising the possibility of a global economic slowdown and raising already high energy prices.
And Saturday, Archyde.com news agency quoted government officials and experts in Washington and the Gulf as saying that the OPEC + group’s decision increased pressure on the already tense relations between the White House under President Joe Biden and the Saudi royal family, which was once one of Washington’s strongest allies in the Middle East.
In interviews with Archyde.com, the more than 10 sources said the White House had lobbied hard to prevent OPEC from cutting production.
Biden hopes to prevent US gasoline prices from rising once more ahead of the midterm elections in which his Democratic Party is struggling to maintain its majority in Congress. Washington also wants to limit Russia’s energy revenues during the war in Ukraine.
The US administration has put pressure on OPEC + for weeks. In recent days, senior US officials in the energy, foreign policy and economic sectors have urged their counterparts abroad to vote once morest production cuts, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
But they failed to prevent production cuts, just as happened with Biden following his visit to the kingdom last July, according to the agency.
A source familiar with the discussions said US officials “tried to portray it as ‘us versus Russia’ and told their Saudi counterparts they had to choose.”
He added that this method failed, noting that the Saudis responded that if the United States wanted more oil in the markets, it should start increasing its production.
