Blinken Plays Down Claims of UAE, Saudi Arabia Declining US Calls to Discuss Oil Output Increase

On Wednesday, UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba indicated his country's desire to encourage the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ramp up supplies as oil prices are on the rise amid the ongoing Russian special operation in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has played down media reports about the heads of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia declining US requests to speak with President Joe Biden in recent weeks.

"We're all talking regularly, I spent a fair bit of time on the phone with my Emirati counterpart. I regularly met with my Saudi counterpart, including in Munich, just a few weeks ago. President Biden spoke with King Salman of Saudi Arabia last month in a discussion that set out a very expansive agenda", Blinken told reporters on Wednesday.

Separately, he claimed that even though the Saudi-led Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+)'s unwillingness to increase oil production in the face of skyrocketing crude prices, the UAE may be reconsidering.

"I think that there was just an announcement a short while ago – I'm not sure if it's been made publicly yet – about Emirati support for increased production when it comes to OPEC+. Which I think is an important thing to stabilise global energy markets to make sure that there remains an abundant supply of energy around the world", Blinken said.

UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba earlier told the Financial Times and CNN that Abu Dhabi "favours production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels".

As for Blinken's remarks, these come after The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed US source as saying that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan ignored President Joe Biden's calls to discuss skyrocketing gas prices following the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

"There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn't happen. It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil]", the source argued.

The claims followed President Joe Biden on Tuesday annoucing that the US is banning "all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy" in response to Moscow's special operation in Ukraine.

The announcement was preceded by an American delegation's visit to Venezuela to discuss ways to maintain "energy security" and shore up the US economy as gas prices in America have already skyrocketed to $4.25 per gallon on average.

The visit was seen by many as part of Washington's efforts to pick an alternative oil supply source amid their anti-Russian sanctions. Aside from considering Venezuela as such a source, the US also reportedly sees Iran in this capacity, with the Islamic Republic signalling its readiness to increase output once America lifts its anti-Iranian sanctions.

On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" the country. The decision was followed by Biden announcing "severe" sanctions on Russia, which, in turn, prompted an increase in global oil and gas prices that soared to new highs last Sunday, when Secretary of State Blinken said that Washington was in "very active discussions" with European allies about a ban on Russian oil exports.