Following the decision of the OPEC+ group -a group of countries made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC member countries- to reduce their crude oil production, Saudi Arabia has received wide support from the Arab world and Turkey, after receiving political pressures from the United States.
After the decision to reduce the crude oil production, Washington came forth against Saudi Arabia with harsh statements and threats of sanctions, while reactions from all over the Arab world and the countries in the region are now rising. The countries that support the OPEC+ decision, are also opposing the accusations against Saudi Arabia by the United States of America.
While the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit has expressed “full support” for Saudi Arabia’s decision to reduce the crude oil production, he also condemned the harsh smear campaign launched against Riyadh administration.
Regarding the accusations from Washington, Gheit stated “They are aimed at politicizing purely economic decisions that everyone realizes are necessary for the stability of the global economy given the dangerous challenges it is facing”.
The speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel Abdulrahman Al Asoomi also said they reject and condemn the accusations made against Saudi Arabia. Asoomi stated that the Arab Parliament is in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia, and that the decisions taken by OPEC and OPEC+ are taken by the unanimous vote of the member states, and that the decision is made taking the supply and demand in the global oil market into account.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha has also approved the slams from the Saudis, regarding the accusations against it, just after the OPEC+ decision.
Another individual who expressed support for the Riyadh administration, had been the Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. Bourita stated that the Rabat administration supports all decisions of the Saudi foreign policy. Bourita also added that “the Kingdom’s foreign policy in the diplomatic or energy fields is based on a long-term vision, and a rational and wise basis, and is not subject to pressure”.
And the Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab also said the OPEC+ decision was taken due to “purely technical” needs, given the global economic trends and the current state of the energy market.
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also reiterated their support for the OPEC+ decision, stressing that the decision had no political motivations.
Iraq: We reject the policy of threats and oppression
Iraq was also among the countries that declared its support for the OPEC+ decision and for Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday they reject any policies that is threatening or oppressive, while reiterating the support for Saudi Arabia.
In a statement issued through the state-owned news agency, the ministry called for “resolving any disagreement related to this case through the natural means and in the context of a direct and balanced dialog”.
Cavusoglu: You have to lift the sanctions if you want prices to fall
Turkey was also among the countries that expressed support for OPEC+ decision to reduce the oil production, and the reactions against Washington’s statements against Saudi Arabia.
In his statement regarding the oil prices, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, “We are seeing that a country is threatening Saudi Arabia, and this bullying is not correct. Sanctions need to be lifted if the world wants oil prices to decrease, this issue cannot be resolved by threatening a single country”.
The Decision from OPEC and the US reaction to it
The OPEC+ group, which consists of all OPEC members and some non-OPEC oil producers, have taken a decision to reduce daily crude oil extraction by 2 million barrels from the beginning of November, after a meeting held in Vienna, Austria on October 5th.
The United States and Europe, which are among the countries that are affected by the rising oil prices after the Russian intervention in Ukraine, have instead expected Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to increase their oil production in order keep the prices stable.
And it was also reported that the US President Joe Biden had asked the Riyadh administration to increase their crude oil production.
The decision contrary to the expectations of the US and Europe, to reduce the oil production led to reactions from the Washington administration. The White House has commented on this decision as “OPEC+ is clearly on the Russian side” while accusing Saudi Arabia of “helping Russia” in the Ukrainian War.
After protesting this decision, Joe Biden said that the US would revise its relationship with Saudi Arabia, threatening that such decision would have uncertain “consequences” for the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia denies the accusations, saying this decision was taken due to economic reasons.
Saudi Arabia’s refrains to condemn the Russian intervention in Ukraine, despite pressures from the United States and the West, has further strained relations.
Experts share the view that the tensions between the Biden administration and OPEC+, and especially the Gulf members of the group, will increase even further.
OPEC members
OPEC member countries are as follows: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Algeria, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria.
The 10 extra members of the OPEC+ group, which was established in 2016 after a decision to collaborate with 10 other oil producers, are as follows: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.
All these countries listed above, make up about 40 percent of the total crude oil production in the world.
Saudi Arabia stands as the largest producer among OPEC members.
