Riyadh

Saudi Arabia on Thursday (October 13) rejected accusations that decision taken by OPEC (Organisation of Oil Producing Countries) and its allies to cut oil production was aimed against the United States. The kingdom said that such accusations were baseless. The decision to cut output was taken despite US pressure to increase it. US is trying to isolate Russia whose main exports are energy products. Cutting oil production may send prices surging which in turn would help Russia fill. at least in theory, its coffers to fund its war efforts in Ukraine.

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The decision to cut production by two million barrels a day from November infuriated the White House, with President Joe Biden promising "consequences" for OPEC's top producer Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia has viewed the statements... which have described the decision as the kingdom taking sides in international conflicts and that it was politically motivated against the United States," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

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Saudi Arabia would "like to express its total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its economic context," it added.

The kingdom insisted that decisions by OPEC+ were taken with only economic considerations in mind.

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"The government of the kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month... would have had negative economic consequences," the ministry said.

"Resolving economic challenges requires the establishment of a non-politicised constructive dialogue and to wisely and rationally consider what serves the interests of all countries."

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In the immediate aftermath of the output cut, US had alleged that OPEC+ was siding with Russia. Saudi Arabia denied this and said that on Ukraine war, the kingdom has maintained a "principled position" in support of international law.

(With inputs from agencies)

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