According to the Wall Street Journal tonight, officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia have both declined a visit from the Biden Administration, preferring to hold out their oil for self-interested demands.
According to WSJ, “the Saudis have signaled that their relationship with Washington has deteriorated under the Biden administration, and they want more support for their intervention in Yemen’s civil war, help with their own civilian nuclear program as Iran’s moves ahead, and legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the U.S., Saudi officials said. The crown prince faces multiple lawsuits in the U.S., including over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The Emiratis share Saudi concerns about the restrained U.S. response to recent missile strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen against the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, officials said. Both governments are also concerned about the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which doesn’t address other security concerns of theirs and has entered the final stages of negotiations in recent weeks”.
PM Mitsotakis: Additional support program for businesses, households, farmers in the next 10 days
Biden is asking for a boost in oil production in the wake of the Russian-Ukraine crisis and his decision to cut off all Russian oil imports into the U.S. The price of Brent crude had already spiked to $132 on Tuesday in anticipation of Biden’s announcement.
