• Saudi Arabia says the U.S. asked it to delay cutting oil production by a month.
• The move was heavily criticized by the White House as helping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• Delay could have staved off price rises at American pumps until after midterm elections.

Saudi Arabia claims the US asked it to wait a month before cutting oil production, defending a move widely condemned by the White House as aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Saudi foreign ministry did not specifically mention the midterm elections in its lengthy and terse statement late Wednesday, but such a delay in the OPEC+ supply reduction could have delayed price increases at American pumps until after the midterm elections.

Rising fuel prices are a major driver of inflation, which shows no signs of abating and hit 8.2% in September to remain a major concern for many Americans as Democrats seek to maintain their slim majority in Congress.

The White House pushed back against any suggestion that the request was politically motivated, with National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson saying in an early Friday statement that it was “categorically false to connect this to US elections.”

“It’s always been about the impact on the global economy and the impact on families at home and around the world,” she added.

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It’s the latest exchange in a tense relationship between Washington and Riyadh, which began with President Joe Biden labelling the kingdom a “pariah” before travelling to the kingdom this summer to fist-bump Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a widely panned overture to increase global oil production.

Saudi Arabia, as the de facto leader of OPEC+, rejected that appeal, instead announcing earlier this week that it would reduce global supply by 2 million barrels. Biden and other Democrats were outraged, accusing him of siding with the Kremlin. Russia is an OPEC+ member and, as an oil exporter, stands to benefit from rising oil prices.

Some Democrats suggested that the United States rethink its entire relationship with the kingdom, with Biden threatening “consequences” for a decision that many saw as a boon to President Vladimir Putin.

Saudi Arabia retaliated on Thursday, issuing a lengthy, pointed statement in which it denied that the cut was “politically motivated,” claiming that the decision was reached by consensus and was made to “protect the global economy from oil-market volatility.”

It referred to “attempts to distort the facts” as “unfortunate.”

According to the statement, the kingdom “clarified through its continuous consultation with the US administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, as suggested, would have had negative economic consequences.”

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