Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused the US of bullying Riyadh when he was talking about the ongoing row between the US and Saudi Arabia over global oil production at a news conference on Friday.
“We are seeing that a country (the US) is threatening Saudi Arabia, and this bullying is not correct,” Cavusoglu said, adding that “sanctions need to be lifted if the world wants oil prices to decrease.”
The issue cannot be resolved by “threatening one country,” he said.
Cavusoglu also listed other countries that faced sanctions by the US:
“The whole world needs Venezuela’s oil and natural gas. There is also an embargo on Iranian oil … If you want oil prices to go down, lift sanctions,” he urged.
According to Cavusoglu, “the main reason for rise in energy prices today is the war in Ukraine and the use of energy as a weapon.”
He said: “This includes not only the countries that produce the energy, but also the countries that impose sanctions on energy.”
US President Joe Biden has vocally criticized Saudi Arabia and warned of impending consequences, after Saudi Arabia led OPEC+ reduced output by about 2 million barrels per day on October 5, a month before the US midterm elections, cornering the US government with higher gas prices, in a country with already rampant inflation.
Turkey has been seeking a $20bn deposit from Saudi Arabia
One person familiar with the Turkish-Saudi talks told Middle East Eye that Riyadh has asked Ankara’s support in the oil production cut, after which Cavusoglu made the statement.
Since this summer, Turkey has been seeking a $20bn deposit from Saudi Arabia in a bid to bolster its foreign currency reserves and Riyadh had been slow to grant the deposit, MEE said.
Source: Gerçek News
