March 14, 2022
1 min read

White Houses faces standoff with Saudi, UAE as oil prices soar

With the most serious oil shock in decades now a reality, US President Joe Biden’s attempt to cushion the blowback continues to meet resistance from the two allies he needs the most, the Guardian reported…reports Asian Lite News

Saudi Arabia’s Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohammed bin Zayed, are yet to agree to a phone call with Biden – a scenario all but unthinkable during previous administrations.

Biden’s immediate priority is for both countries to help exert maximum economic pressure on Russia by cranking up their oil output.

Each capital is a major supplier of oil, with excess capacity, which would soften the effect on US consumers through fuel prices before midterm elections in November that threaten Democratic control of Congress.

With relations between the Middle East oil powers and Washington at their lowest ebb in modern times, though, a reckoning is due that may realign the regional order on terms that favour Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Both leaders have made it clear that they will settle for nothing less, and are ready to extract their price, the Guardian reported.

As if to show the Biden administration what it could do, the UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, said on March 10 that it favoured production increases “and will be encouraging Opec to consider higher production levels”, leading oil prices to fall by 13 per cent the next day.

ALSO READ: UAE, Saudi decline to take calls from White House on oil prices

But no action to increase supply followed and by the week’s end the price per barrel was back up to almost $130, an uncomfortably high level for Biden to take to the midterms.

However, the standoff involves far more than oil.

In Riyadh, Prince Mohammed feels snubbed by Biden’s refusal to engage with him ever since he took office.

The murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by the Crown Prince’s security aides, the war on Yemen, the jailing of rights activists and the boycott of Qatar have made him a pariah to the administration, the Guardian reported.

Previous Story

Kerala govt vows support for Ukraine returned students

Next Story

Iran’s economic benefits must be ensured in Vienna nuke talks: Spokesman

Latest from Arab News

GCC condemns Israeli airstrikes in Syria

GCC SG Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that these airstrikes represent a continuation of efforts by the Israeli occupation forces to undermine and destabilise regional and international security Secretary General of the Gulf

Trump due in Saudi, UAE amid new tariffs

The GCC bloc, which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, has been hit with a 10% tariff, placing them among the lower-tiered rates US President Donald Trump has

Pakistan Day celebrated in Oman

On the occasion of Pakistan Day on March 23, a grand ceremony was held at the Embassy of Pakistan in Muscat, Oman.  The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran

Cleveland Clinic, G42 revolutionise healthcare with AI

The collaboration aims to enhance patient care, drive medical innovation, and optimise healthcare operations through AI-powered solutions In a groundbreaking partnership, Cleveland Clinic and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) leader G42 have

UAE, Egypt Renew Ties

The two leaders exchanged greetings and best wishes for the remainder of the holy month of Ramadan and engaged in cordial conversation reflecting the strength of the close ties between their two
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Blinken due in Brussels for NATO, G7 ministerial

At the Ministerial, Blinken will have the opportunity to highlight

UAE among 15 nations address Sudan’s famine risk

The statement called on the warring parties in Sudan to