Biden Admin Says Other OPEC Nations 'Coerced' by Saudis Into Oil Cuts

© Alex Wong/Getty Images Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby speaks during a daily White House press briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House September 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Biden administration has pushed back on Saudi Arabia’s defense of a recent cut in oil production, saying that member nations in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) felt “coerced” to follow Saudi lead in backing the scaled-down output.

The Biden administration has pushed back against Saudi Arabia's defense of a recent cut in oil production, saying that member nations in OPEC felt "coerced" to follow the Saudis' lead in backing the scaled-down output.

Last week, OPEC countries and allied oil-producing nations supported a plan to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. In response, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese released a joint statement saying the move had "disappointed" President Joe Biden, noting that "the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine."

Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview Tuesday that there will "be some consequences for what they've done, with Russia." He framed the oil production cut in terms of Saudi Arabia siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.

The next day, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry released a lengthy statement expressing its "total rejection" of comments suggesting that it was "taking sides in international conflicts" and that its decision was "politically [motivated]" against the U.S. The statement also asserted that the oil cut decision was "purely economic" and "taken unanimously by all member states of the OPEC+ group."

In a new statement on Thursday, obtained by CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby wrote that Saudi Arabia "can try to spin or deflect, but the facts are simple."

"In recent week, the Saudis conveyed to us—privately and publicly—their intention to reduce oil production, which they knew would increase Russian revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions," the statement read.

It continued: "That is the wrong direction. We presented Saudi Arabia with analysis to show that there was no market basis to cut production targets, and that they could easily wait for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed.

"Other OPEC nations communicated to us privately that they also disagreed with the Saudi decision, but felt coerced to support Saudi's direction," Kirby continued. "As the President has said, we are reevaluating our relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of these actions, and will continue to look for signs about where they stand in combatting Russian aggression."

Kirby did not specify which countries said they felt coerced.

The oil production cut could be harmful to the U.S., which placed an embargo on Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine, but beneficial for Putin. An expert told Newsweek last week that the OPEC decision could cause further woes for the U.S. economy by driving up gas prices, which could worsen inflation and put the U.S. at risk of a "prolonged recession."

For Russia, which co-chairs OPEC+ with Saudi Arabia, the oil production cuts will elevate per-barrel oil prices and generate more revenue for its economy, which heavily relies on oil and gas sales, NPR reported.

Newsweek reached out for comment to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.

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