Pakistan expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia on OPEC decision

• Pakistan has expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia
• OPEC+ had agreed to cut oil production from November
• US criticized the decision and said there will be ‘consequences’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed solidarity with the leadership of Saudi Arabia in the wake of statements made against a decision of Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC+) to cut oil production.

“We appreciate the concerns of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“Pakistan encourages a constructive approach on such issues based on engagement and mutual respect,” it added. “We reaffirm our long-standing, abiding and fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel which includes Russia had agreed last month to reduce two million barrels per day lfrom November at a meeting in Vienna.

The move angered the United States and President Joe Biden vowed to impose “consequences” on Saudi Arabia for siding with Russia in supporting the cuts.

The OPEC+ move undermines Western countries’ plans to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil exports in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

US Senator Bob Menendez, who chairs the Senate’s foreign relations committee, also called for a halt to most US arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ move.

Saudi Arabia rejected the United States’ accusations of aligning itself with Russia amid the Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices, insisting it was purely a business decision.

“We are astonished by the accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine,” the Saudi defence minister, Prince Khaled bin Salman, tweeted on Sunday.

“It is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government,” he added. “Although the OPEC+ decision, which was taken unanimously, was due to purely economic reasons, some accused the kingdom of standing with Russia.