RIYADH
\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s push for oil production cuts has placed a new strain on its stormy relationship with the United States, though analysts say any predictions of an all-out break are premature.
\nThe move last week by OPEC+ \u2014 composed of the Riyadh-led OPEC cartel and an additional group of 10 exporters headed by Russia \u2014 would reduce global output by up to two million barrels per day from November.
\nComing amid an energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and as inflation-weary American voters prepare to cast ballots in midterm elections, the planned cuts have infuriated Washington, with US President Joe Biden warning Tuesday of unspecified \u201cconsequences\u201d.
\nSaudi officials, for their part, have defended the move as purely motivated by economics, not politics, and dismissed charges from the White House that OPEC+ was \u201caligning with Russia\u201d.
\nVerbal sparring between the two sides continued on Thursday, with the Saudi foreign ministry expressing \u201ctotal rejection\u201d of such claims \u201cwhich are not based on facts\u201d.
\nThe ministry said it also rejected \u201cany dictates, actions or efforts to distort its noble objectives to protect the global economy from oil market volatility\u201d.
\nIn response, the White House said Riyadh \u201ccan try to spin or deflect, but the facts are simple.\u201d
\nDespite obvious rancour on both sides, it is unclear where the feud goes from here.
\nBiden stopped short of providing details on how he might respond in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, and Riyadh\u2019s public statements continue to highlight the benefits of strong ties with Washington.
\n\u201cThe US-Saudi relationship has gone through periods of intense strain before, but in my view, the current low point represents a crack but not a rupture,\u201d said Anna Jacobs, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG).
\n\u201cThe reality is that the US and Saudi Arabia need each other.\u201d
\nHarsh words
\nJust three months ago, Biden visited the Saudi city of Jeddah and greeted the de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with a fist-bump, drawing outrage from activists critical of the kingdom\u2019s human rights record.
\nThe trip represented a dramatic climb-down from Biden\u2019s 2019 vow to turn Saudi Arabia into a \u201cpariah\u201d over abuses like the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
\nThe fact that Biden\u2019s trip did not lead to a hoped-for increase in oil production helps explain the harsh rhetoric from some members of his Democratic party, who have called the Saudis \u201croyal backstabbers\u201d who \u201cmisled and double-crossed\u201d the US president.
\nSome US lawmakers have tried to revive support for a so-called NOPEC bill that would expose the oil cartel to antitrust lawsuits, while others have called for Washington to remove military assets from the kingdom.
\nWashington might find these steps counterproductive, however.
\nThey \u201cwould threaten to break already fraught relations, which in turn would put even greater upward pressure on oil and fuel prices\u201d, said Torbjorn Soltvedt of the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
\n\u201cThe most likely response is what we have already seen \u2014 strongly worded statements from politicians,\u201d said Ellen Wald, author of Saudi Inc., a history of energy giant Saudi Aramco.
\n\u2018Recalibration\u2019
\nIt is not just energy concerns bedevilling the US-Saudi partnership, which is often described as an oil-for-security arrangement.
\nPast disagreements have centred on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the nuclear deal with Iran pursued by former president Barack Obama.
\nThe Saudis also objected to what they perceived as the tepid response from Biden\u2019s predecessor, President Donald Trump, to attacks on Saudi oil facilities in 2019 claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen.
\n\u201cI think the US-Saudi relationship is going through a major recalibration,\u201d said Jacobs of the ICG.
\n\u201cThe OPEC+ decision seems less about siding with Russia and more about Saudi Arabia acting in its own self-interest and pushing back against the traditional patron-client dynamic between the US and Saudi Arabia.\u201d
\nWhile it remains a mystery what \u201cconsequences\u201d Riyadh might face over the OPEC+ cuts, \u201can excessive response will only accelerate the ongoing effort to diversify Saudi\u2019s military relations, not only with China and Russia but with France, the UK, India and Pakistan, and even Brazil and South Africa,\u201d said Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government.
\n\u201cYou have to remember that the US never supplied Saudi with its absolute latest equipment anyway.\u201d
\nThat possibility aside, Saudi officials apparently remain optimistic that ties with Washington will weather the current turbulence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH Saudi Arabia\u2019s push for oil production cuts has placed a new strain on its stormy relationship with the United States, though analysts say any predictions of an all-out break are premature. The move last week by OPEC+ \u2014 composed of the Riyadh-led OPEC cartel and an additional group of 10 exporters headed by Russia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-289567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n