Saudi Arabia denies ‘political motives’ behind oil production cut

ISTANBUL

Facing a backlash from the US, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday denied accusations that political motives were behind the decision by oil producer group OPEC+ to cut production by 2 million barrels a day.

“Saudi Arabia does not politicize oil. We don’t see oil as a weapon. We see oil as our commodity. Our objective is to bring stability to the oil market,” Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told news channel CNN.

He added that the decision was purely economic “to maintain stability in the oil markets.”

“Saudi Arabia is taking the side of trying to ensure the stability of the oil markets,” al-Jubeir said, adding it is not siding with Russia on this issue.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden warned Saudi Arabia that it will face consequences from the oil production cut, adding that Washington will “rethink” its relationship with Riyadh.

“There’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia,” Biden said in an interview with CNN.

His remarks came after an Oct. 5 decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, also known as OPEC+, to cut production by 2 million barrels a day starting in November.

• Oil
• OPEC
• Saudi Arabia