Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is stable & evolving: US Secretary of State
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said recently that relations between the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are stable and developing for the better.
Blinken added in statements to the Al- Arabiya channel that Saudi Arabia provided significant support to Ukraine in confronting the Russian war, saying that Saudi Arabia “voted against the Russian war in Ukraine before the General Assembly.”
Regarding the OPEC + decision to reduce oil production, the US Secretary of State said: “We were concerned about the OPEC + decision to reduce oil production, and our relationship with Saudi Arabia should reflect common interests and values.”
Blinken stressed that the US and Saudi Arabia are working side by side to end the war in Yemen.
The Wall Street Journal had quoted US and Saudi officials earlier saying that US President Joe Biden’s administration had retracted its stance towards Saudi Arabia, following the “OPEC +” decision to cut oil production last year.
According to the newspaper, the officials added that the Biden administration is moving to intensify security coordination against Iran in 2023, after 3 months of “unprecedented” apathy in the two countries relations.
The officials pointed to “signs of improving cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks with the decline in gasoline prices in the US, the results of the midterm elections for the Democrats that exceeded expectations, and the growing concerns about Iran,” considering that this “reduced the intensity of a dispute that has been carrying on for a long time.” It came to public view last October,” in the wake of the “OPEC +” decision.
The newspaper pointed out that Prince Mohammed bin Salman “has drawn up a more independent foreign policy, and positive relations with US adversaries such as China and Russia are of strategic importance to Riyadh. Meanwhile, the Biden administration remains intent on focusing its firepower on Russia and China, not the Middle East”.
