Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates leaders have declined a call from President Joe Biden as the U.S. has sought contact with Persian Gulf allies to help with surging oil prices amid the Ukraine crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Biden reportedly sought to increase American oil flow from the Middle East, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and the U.A.E.'s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan have declined calls, seeking to leverage more support in Yemen's civil war, sources told the Journal.
"There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn't happen," an official told the Journal of MBS declining his call. "It was part of turning on the spigot."
Biden has been critical of MBS since the 2020 presidential campaign, criticizing the de fact Saudi leader for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and calling Saudi Arabia "a pariah state" and adding in a presidential debate, there was "very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia."
Among the other issues the Saudis seek to leverage before a call is support for Saudi's nuclear program amid renewed Iran nuclear talks and legal immunity for MBS in the U.S, official told the Journal.
UAE shares Saudi concerns on Yemen support and a pending Iran nuclear deal, according to the report.
Saudi Arabia and UAE can handle increased oil production as Biden scrambles to seek alternatives amid a restriction on Russian oil as part of the Ukraine invasion sanctions.
There are already Biden administration efforts under way to beef up Saudi and UAE missile defenses, but both Saudi Arabia and UEA are members of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an energy alliance with Russia.
Notably, the two countries Biden was rebuffed by have taken calls from Russia's Vladimir Putin the past week.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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