White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday slammed a report that the leaders of Saudi Arabia declined President Biden’s request to speak about rising oil prices.
“That report is inaccurate,” Ms. Psaki said. “There were no rebuffed calls. Period.”
Ms. Psaki added that Mr. Biden spoke with Saudi King Salman on Feb. 9 and talked about a range of issues. King Salman is the father of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Saudi Prince and leaders of the United Arab Emirates turned down an opportunity to speak with Mr. Biden.
Ms. Psaki did not say if the UAE rebuffed a call from Mr. Biden.
“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a U.S. official told the Journal of the planned discussion between Prince Mohammed and Mr. Biden. “It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”
Relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have deteriorated under the Biden administration. Saudi Arabia wants more U.S. support for its intervention in Yemen’s civil war, its nuclear program and legal protection for Prince Mohammed, who faces several U.S. lawsuits over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The Biden administration wants Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries to ramp up their supplies after banning Russian oil imports on Tuesday. The ban sent the price of oil to $130 a barrel, the highest level in 14 years.
Last week, the U.S. opened diplomatic ties with Venezuela, a Russian ally and holder of the world’s largest oil reserves. On Tuesday, Venezuela released two Americans from prison in a bid to improve relations with the U.S.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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