The United States has threatened to withdraw its troops from Saudi Arabia if it does not reduce its oil production and supply. The United States has been urging Saudi Arabia to end its ongoing standoff over oil prices with Russia for weeks, and US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Saudi leaders. Trump to Saudis: Cut oil supply or lose US military support
Sources told Reuters that on April 2, Trump had a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying that as long as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not reduce oil production. Until then, they will be powerless to block legislation on the withdrawal of US troops from Saudi Arabia.
Never before has there been a report of a threat to dismantle this 75-year-old strategic alliance, and its main purpose is to press for a historic US oil deal where due to Corona virus Demand for this oil has reduced significantly.
According to US administration sources who attended the briefing, Trump delivered the message to the Saudi Crown Prince 10 days before the announcement of the cut in oil production, and the threat had such an effect on Muhammad bin Salman that he everyone in the room was ordered to leave so that they could continue their conversation in secret.
Trump’s efforts are aimed at saving the US oil industry from collapse during the crisis of falling oil prices, where the corona virus has hit economies around the world. Here, too, the US President, who has in the past criticized oil companies for cutting oil production and raising oil prices because it had cost the American people as they paid more for energy and electricity expenses. But now the US president himself is urging OPEC countries to reduce oil production.
A senior US official told Reuters that the US administration had told Saudi Arabia that if it did not reduce its oil production, it would not be able to stop the US Congress from imposing sanctions withdrawal of forces from Saudi Arabia would be certain.
“Saudi Arabia was clearly told in the message that we are defending our industry while you are destroying it,” he said, summarizing talks between Saudi and US leaders. When asked by Reuters on Wednesday if he (Trump) had threatened the Saudi Crown Prince with the withdrawal of US troops, he said, “I don’t need to tell him.”
When asked what he said to the Saudi Crown Prince, Trump replied that Saudi Arabia and Russia are having difficulty reaching an agreement, I spoke to the Saudi Crown Prince on the telephone and we have agreed to cut production. We managed to reach an agreement.
When contacted, Saudi officials did not respond to a request for comment, but a Saudi official said on condition of anonymity that the agreement “reflects the wishes of OPEC and all oil-producing countries.”
He declined to comment on the talks between US and Saudi leaders, saying that Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia have a key role to play in the OPEC and oil production reduction agreement, but that the 23 participating countries are cooperating. It would not have been possible without it.
A week before the US president’s call to the Saudi Crown Prince, Republican senators Kevin Kramer and Dan Sullivan introduced a resolution saying that if Saudi Arabia does not reduce oil production, the US forces in Saudi Arabia, Patriot missiles and anti-missile defense systems would be removed.
Pressure was mounting on Saudi Arabia and Russia to ratify the resolution after Russia refused to reduce production in defiance of the OPEC oil supply agreement. Later, Saudi Arabia also increased its oil production and started supplying oil to the world market on a large scale.
On April 12, as a result of Trump’s pressure, the world’s largest oil producers outside the United States agreed to the largest oil production reduction agreement in history. OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing allies cut production by 9.7 million barrels a day, about 10 percent of world production, with Russia and Saudi Arabia suffering the most as more than half of their production fell. Both countries had to reduce production by 2.5 million barrels.
Despite a 10 % drop in global production, global oil prices continue to fall, and US oil prices fell below zero last week as oil sellers had nowhere to go. At the beginning of the year, Brent was priced at 70 a barrel, but it dropped to 15 15 a barrel, the lowest price since 1999.
Now, with the reduction in oil production and the resumption of normalcy after the end of lockdowns by various countries, global oil prices will definitely rise. Whatever the outcome of these talks, they are currently a living example of US influence over oil-producing countries.
When asked by Reuters if Trump had threatened the Saudi Crown Prince with the withdrawal of US troops, US Secretary of Energy Dan Brolett said he had the right to take any steps to ensure the safety of his oil production. Including our renunciation of their defense needs.
The strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia began in 1945 when then-US President Franklin Roosevelt met with King Abdul Aziz bin Saud of Saudi Arabia on the USS Quincy. Saudi Arabia had given the United States access to its oil reserves in return for which the United States used its military to defend it. Currently, 3,000 US troops are stationed at various bases in Saudi Arabia, and the US Navy ensures the security of oil exports from the region.
Saudi Arabia relies entirely on the United States for arms supplies and protection from rivals such as Iran. Saudi Arabia’s failures and weaknesses became apparent last year when 18 drones and three missiles hit Saudi Arabia’s largest oil installations, and the United States blamed the attacks on Iran.
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