Saudi Arabia: "No Discussions on Oil Production Increase During Biden's Visit"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister stated that discussions on increasing oil production did not take place during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit. Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, reportedly pointed out that Western-led green policies have caused the energy crisis.

According to AFP on the 16th (local time), Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan drew a line during a press conference, saying, "There were no discussions related to oil at this summit." Foreign Minister Farhan added, "OPEC and the OPEC+ coalition, which includes major non-OPEC oil producers such as Russia, will assess market conditions and establish an appropriate production plan."

President Biden attended the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the same day. Prior to Biden's Middle East tour, there had been expectations that requests for increased production would be made to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. In particular, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been considered oil-producing countries with remaining capacity to increase output.

However, Mohammed bin Salman, the actual power in Saudi Arabia, reportedly attributed the cause of soaring prices to Western-led green policies. At the GCC meeting, Crown Prince bin Salman stated, "Unrealistic energy policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions cause energy price increases and inflation," adding, "This will raise unemployment and lead to serious social problems." He further explained, "Saudi Arabia has already announced plans to increase production to the maximum capacity of 13 million barrels per day, and additional production beyond this is impossible."

It also seems unlikely that concrete outcomes will emerge regarding the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia or the establishment of a joint air defense system, which President Biden had initially sought to promote. Foreign Minister Farhan said, "There were no discussions about 'joint defense' with Israel during the talks with President Biden." Regarding the recent allowance of Saudi airspace passage for aircraft departing from Israel, Minister Farhan cautioned against overinterpretation, stating, "This is a measure unrelated to diplomatic relations."

Saudi authorities allowed all civilian aircraft, including those departing from Israel, to fly through their airspace in line with President Biden's visit the previous day. Until now, most Islamic countries in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, have not recognized Israel's statehood and have prohibited aircraft departing from Israel from passing through their airspace.