Egypt backs Saudi oil cuts, says FM

Egypt backs Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut oil production as part of the OPEC+ group, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced yesterday.

“Egypt endorses the stance expressed by the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in explaining the technical considerations for the OPEC+ decision as it aims to maintain oil market discipline in the first place,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the Saudi decision aims “to achieve a balance in the oil market to deal with the current economic challenges.”

Since the decision earlier this month by the Saudi-led Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) to cut the production and output of crude oil by an amount equal to around two per cent of the global supply, the US has accused the kingdom of siding with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

By agreeing to the cuts, according to Washington, Riyadh is assisting Russia – another prominent member of OPEC+ – as it apparently undermines Western countries’ plans to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil exports and enables Moscow to circumvent sanctions.

READ: US President Biden to act ‘methodically’ in response to Saudi Arabia over oil cuts