We appreciate concerns of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability, FO says
\nISLAMABAD
\nIn the wake of statements made against the Kingdom in the context of the OPEC+ decision, Pakistan Tuesday expressed solidarity with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
\n\u201cWe appreciate the concerns of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability,\u201d the Foreign Office said in a statement.
\nIt added that Pakistan encourages a constructive approach to such issues based on engagement and mutual respect.
\n\u201cWe reaffirm our long-standing, abiding and fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.\u201d
\nSaudi defends oil policy in face of US charges
\nA day prior, Saudi Arabia rejected the United States\u2019 accusations of aligning itself with Russia amid the Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices, insisting it was purely a business decision.
\n\u201cWe are astonished by the accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine,\u201d the Saudi defence minister, Prince Khaled bin Salman, tweeted late Sunday. The Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel \u2014 which includes Russia \u2014 has angered Washington by deciding to cut production by two million barrels per day from November, adding further pressure on soaring crude prices.
\n\u201cIt is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government,\u201d Prince Khaled wrote. \u201cAlthough the OPEC+ decision, which was taken unanimously, was due to purely economic reasons, some accused the kingdom of standing with Russia.
\nBiden vows consequences for Saudi Arabia
\nUS President Joe Biden pledged on October 13 that \u201cthere will be consequences\u201d for US relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced last week that it would cut oil production over US objections.
\nHis announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales. Biden, in an interview with CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper, said he would not discuss what options he was considering.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to get into what I\u2019d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be \u2014 there will be consequences,\u201d he said.
\nWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a policy review would be conducted but gave no timeline for action or information on who would lead the re-evaluation.
\nThe United States will be watching the situation closely \u201cover the coming weeks and months,\u201d she said.
\nJohn Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said Biden would work with Congress \u201cto think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd I think he\u2019s going to be willing to start to have those conversations right away. I don\u2019t think this is anything that\u2019s going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly, for much longer,\u201d Kirby added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We appreciate concerns of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability, FO says ISLAMABAD In the wake of statements made against the Kingdom in the context of the OPEC+ decision, Pakistan Tuesday expressed solidarity with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. \u201cWe appreciate the concerns of the Kingdom of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[554],"class_list":{"0":"post-290123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-foreign-office"},"yoast_head":"\n