“There will be consequences”.
It was the warning a fuming Joe Biden hurled at Saudi Arabia during a CNN interview in the autumn of 2022, a week after the kingdom announced deep cuts to its oil production.
The US president feared the move risked pushing up crude prices amid the turmoil triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine. American officials, blindsided by the Saudi decision, considered it a slap in the face to an administration concerned about domestic gasoline prices in the run-up to midterm elections.
For Biden it was personal. The production cut announced by Opec+, the Saudi-led oil cartel, came just three months after he had expended significant political capital by travelling to the kingdom for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the president had previously refused to engage with.
Behind the scenes, harsh words were exchanged. Some in the administration thought the Saudis, who insisted their decision had been based on market dynamics, had deliberately screwed them. It became a make-or-break moment after months of efforts to repair ties between the two. Biden threatened another “review” of the relationship.
Yet the “consequences” Biden threatened never materialised and what could have been a rupture instead became merely a setback in attempts by both sides to rebuild the relationship.
In the months since, relations between the US and Saudi Arabia have blossomed, with the kingdom transitioning from pariah to what administration officials describe as one of Washington’s most important global partners.
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