The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would not come to the phone when President Biden tried to call them to discuss boosting oil exports to offset price hikes linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a report.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan declined Biden’s attempted outreach, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,“ a US official told the newspaper. ”It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”
Biden is attempting to woo an array of oil-producing autocracies — including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela — to offset the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on energy markets.
Biden reportedly is considering a trip to Saudi Arabia this spring to resolve hard feelings with bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, who the US intelligence community believes ordered the 2018 operation that dismembered Jamal Khashoggi with a bone saw.
US diplomats, meanwhile, are working to broker a new nuclear deal with Iran in exchange for sanctions relief and other diplomats were dispatched to Caracas to smooth over a rift with Venezuela’s socialist strongman Nicolas Maduro, who the US government does not recognize as the country’s legitimate ruler.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/08/saudi...iden-when-he-calls-to-talk-gas-prices-report/
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan declined Biden’s attempted outreach, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,“ a US official told the newspaper. ”It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”
Biden is attempting to woo an array of oil-producing autocracies — including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela — to offset the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on energy markets.
Biden reportedly is considering a trip to Saudi Arabia this spring to resolve hard feelings with bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, who the US intelligence community believes ordered the 2018 operation that dismembered Jamal Khashoggi with a bone saw.
US diplomats, meanwhile, are working to broker a new nuclear deal with Iran in exchange for sanctions relief and other diplomats were dispatched to Caracas to smooth over a rift with Venezuela’s socialist strongman Nicolas Maduro, who the US government does not recognize as the country’s legitimate ruler.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/08/saudi...iden-when-he-calls-to-talk-gas-prices-report/
