US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The United States put pressure on Saudi Arabia to end the price war on the oil market with Russia, and President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Saudi leaders, reports Reuters.
In a phone call on April 2, Trump told Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman that if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not begin to cut oil production, he will not be able to prevent lawmakers from passing a law on the withdrawal of US troops from the kingdom, four sources said. familiar with this issue.
The threat to destroy a 75-year-old strategic alliance that was not previously reported was central to Washington’s pressure campaign, which led to a landmark global deal to cut oil supplies as world demand for oil declines due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This was a diplomatic victory for the Trump administration, the agency writes.
Trump made his statement to the Crown Prince 10 days before the announcement of a reduction in oil production.
It is noted that the leader of the kingdom was so dumbfounded by the threat that he ordered his assistants to leave the room so that he could continue the discussion in private, said a source in the US who was informed about this discussion by senior officials of the administration.
These efforts demonstrated Trump’s strong desire to protect the US oil industry from historical price drops when governments shut down economies around the world to fight the virus.
It also reflected a rejection of Trump’s long-standing criticism of the oil cartel, which he criticized for raising energy prices for Americans because of reduced supplies, which usually leads to higher gas prices.
Now, the American president turned his head and asked OPEC to cut production.
A senior US official told the agency that the administration had notified Saudi leaders that without a reduction in production, “there will be no way to stop the US Congress from introducing restrictions that could lead to the withdrawal of US troops.”
Reuters asked Trump about the negotiations in an interview on Wednesday evening at the White House, in which the president raised a number of issues related to the pandemic. When asked if he told the crown prince that the United States could withdraw troops from Saudi Arabia, Trump replied: “I did not need to tell him that.”
According to Trump, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Russia “were very reasonable,” because they understood the problem and began to solve it.
When asked what he told Crown Prince Mohammed, Trump replied: “It was difficult for them to make a deal. And I talked to him on the phone and we were able to agree on a reduction in production.”
Saudi Arabia’s state media department did not respond to a request for comment.
The Saudi official, who asked not to be named, stressed that the agreement represents the will of all countries in the so-called group of oil-producing countries OPEC +, which includes OPEC and a coalition led by Russia.
“Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia played an important role in the OPEC + agreement to reduce oil, but without the cooperation of the 23 countries that took part in the agreement, this would not have happened,” said the representative of Saudi Arabia, who declined to comment on the discussions between US leaders and Saudi Arabia.
A week before Trump’s phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed, US Republican Senators Kevin Kramer and Dan Sullivan, a bill was submitted to withdraw all US troops, Patriot missiles and missile defense systems from the kingdom if Saudi Arabia did not stop oil production.
Support for this measure is gaining momentum amid Congressional anger over an untimely price war on the oil market between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
On April 12th, under Trump pressure, the world’s largest oil producing countries outside the United States agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated.
OPEC, Russia and other major producers reduced production by 9.7 million barrels per day, or about 10% of world production. Half of this volume came from a reduction of 2.5 million barrels by Saudi Arabia and Russia, whose budgets depend on high oil and gas revenues.
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