Too late for a Saudi rethink? Critics say oil cut was a predictable blow for Biden – By Hyder Abbasi (NBC News) / Oct 15, 2022
Powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been “actively rewarded” by Biden for his “very bad behavior with presidential visits and fist bumps,” one activist said.
President Joe Biden’s attempts to court Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were destined to end in failure, analysts and dissidents told NBC News, after the White House and the deeply conservative kingdom clashed over cuts to oil production.
Without elaborating, the White House warned there would be “consequences’’ for the Middle Eastern powerbroker after the oil-producing alliance OPEC+ announced earlier this month that it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day, a move that’s likely to send gas prices higher again.
The cut is also seen as helping Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, finance its war in Ukraine.
And for some, the decision by the group of 13 oil exporting countries, whose de facto leader is Saudi Arabia, was a sign that Biden’s bid to reset ties between Washington and Riyadh during a visit to the kingdom earlier this year was doomed to fail.
