The US should stop threatening Saudi Arabia over high oil prices and find other ways to resolve the problem, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Riyadh is de facto leader, agreed to slash oil production in early October, angering Washington, which had repeatedly urged the group to instead boost output.
“The bullying against Saudi Arabia is inappropriate. We are going through similar challenges in energy prices but we don’t threaten anyone,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Speaking in Mersin, southern Türkiye, Cavusoglu said it’s acceptable for the US to criticize OPEC+, a grouping of the major oil producers including Russia and Saudi Arabia, for cutting production, but cautioned Washington that threatening Riyadh is “not right”.
The minister went on to hint that skyrocketing oil prices, which are a major concern for the US, stem from Washington’s own policies.
“You cannot resolve this issue by only threatening a country. You should allow oil producers back in production,” he noted, referring to the embargoes Washington has imposed on Iran and Venezuela.