Saudi Defesne Minister ‘Astonished’ at claims that his country backs Russia

Saudi Defense Minister, HRH, Prince Khalid bin Salman expressed surprise that Saudi Arabia was accused of siding with Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.

In a tweet, Prince Khalid bin Salman added, “The false accusations of Saudi Arabia standing with Russia did not come from Ukraine.”

Prince Khalid bin Salman stated that the OPEC+ decision to reduce oil production was made unanimously and for purely economic reasons.

“Even though the OPEC +decision was made unanimously for purely economic reasons, some accused the Kingdom of siding with Russia!! Because Iran is also a member of OPEC, does this imply that the Kingdom also supported Iran?”,  HRH, Khalid bin Salman said.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia previously rejected criticism of OPEC +’s decision to cut oil production by two million barrels per day beginning in November. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the move is solely motivated by the alliance’s primary goal of market stability and volatility avoidance.

The Kingdom categorically rejected any statements implying bias in international conflicts.

“The Kingdom refuses to consider the OPEC + decision based on political motives against America,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated.

The Kingdom completely rejects the statements made after the decision criticizing the decision

It also stated its unequivocal rejection of US statements that are not based on facts, noting that they rely on attempting to portray OPEC’s decision outside of its purely economic framework.

The statement emphasized that “during its consultation with the US administration, the Kingdom made it clear that deferring the decision to cut production for a month, as proposed, would have negative economic consequences.”