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The United States wants to continue to “work” with Saudi Arabia, despite the surprise production cut decided by some oil producing countries, including the Saudi kingdom, a White House spokesman said Monday.
“We don’t agree on everything, but we are finding ways to work together on issues that concern us both,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.
Several major crude oil exporting countries agreed on Sunday to a drastic cut in their production as early as May. Among them Saudi Arabia. This production cut “is not timely”, said John Kirby, who however sought to put its impact into perspective. “This is not the same situation as last year,” he assured, arguing that oil prices have fallen since last fall. “We are focused on prices, not on the number of barrels,” he said again.
Last October, an Opec+ production cut drew much stronger criticism from the US executive. President Joe Biden even threatened “consequences” for the long-standing U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, based on sales of U.S. arms and barrels of Saudi crude.
“We won’t always agree with everything Saudi Arabia does or says, nor will they always agree with what we do or say, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a strategic relationship,” John Kirby said.
