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Jordan calls for Saudi-US dialogue over OPEC+ decision to cut production

October 19, 2022 at 3:48 pm

OPEC President and Energy Minister of the United Arab Emirates Suhail al-Mazrouei (4th R) opens the 175th OPEC Conference of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria on December 6, 2018 [JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images]

Jordan yesterday called for direct dialogue between the United States and Saudi Arabia to discuss reported tensions over a recent OPEC+ decision to reduce oil production.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was “following with interest the reactions to the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production and the interactions resulting from it.”

Responding to the US accusation that Saudi Arabia was biased towards Russia, the ministry described the kingdom’s decision as “purely economic.”

“This is a technical issue related to the stability of oil markets and their requirements, the regulation of the supply and demand process, and the protection of the interests of producers and consumers,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Sinan Al-Majali, told reporters, stressing that the issue should be viewed in an “economic context, away from political quarrels that do not serve common goals and interests.”

Al-Majali pointed out that it was “necessary to address this issue through direct and balanced dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the US, and within the spirit of partnership that unites the two countries.”

“This dialogue should be held in a manner that reflects the importance of this partnership, and the efforts to establish security and stability in the region and beyond,” he explained.

READ: UAE says OPEC+ output cut was correct decision, no politics behind it

The official reiterated that Amman was “supporting all steps taken by Riyadh to protect its security, stability and interests.”

Saudi-led OPEC+ agreed to cut oil output from November, in contravention to US demands that it increase production to reduce global costs. While Saudi says the measure is an effort to balance supply and demand and curb market volatility, critics have said it panders to Russia’s efforts to squeeze Europe during summer, at a time when Moscow has seen widescale sanctions placed on it and had contracts to supply European state with gas and oil cut.