Emirates reaffirms OPEC+ commitment in the face of US pressure

The United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed its full support for the OPEC+ agreement on its latest oil production deal in the face of recent statements by US President Joe Biden urging an even greater increase in oil production in order to lower fuel prices in the face of the crisis unleashed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  

The Russian offensive on Ukrainian territory has generated a rise in oil prices not seen in the last decade, and there was some consensus on increasing production to lower the price of crude oil. Joe Biden's government exerted pressure in this sense to bring producer countries into line with its demand to increase production, a line that was also supported by the Emirates; but within OPEC+, which includes the world's main crude oil producers as well as other nations such as Russia, refused to go beyond the increase agreed at the agency's last meeting, which set the production boom at 400,000 barrels more per day, as reported by the Financial Times. 

Pressure from the United States to modify the OPEC+ roadmap failed, as reflected in various media outlets such as Al-Arab News and the Financial Times. In the particular case of the Emirates, Washington wanted to join Abu Dhabi in its proposal to generate more oil in order to lower world market prices, but the Arab country has stressed its commitment to the pacts agreed within OPEC+, regardless of the US position.

Suhail al-Mazrouei, the UAE's Minister of Energy, reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to OPEC+ production after the UAE's ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, indicated that his country viewed increased oil production positively. Arab News noted that the United States tried to use the ambassador's move to show that the Gulf state was adhering to its demands, but the UAE has made it clear that its desire to increase its oil quota was a coincidence with the US line and not a decision taken under pressure from the US giant, and that the UAE continues to abide by the OPEC+ agreement. 

Observers see the determination shown by Al-Mazrouei as a clear message that Abu Dhabi is very committed to OPEC+ and is not expected to act contrary to the line set by the organisation of the world's major oil producers and on the sidelines of a strong ally such as Saudi Arabia.   

This coincides with the latest reports from media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, which indicated that Joe Biden tried to talk by telephone with Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, to gather support for the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and also to tackle the rise in fuel prices due to the energy crisis that has broken out. But in the end it was not received because of the diplomatic rift that has widened between these two Arab countries and the US due to differences over Joe Biden's government's Middle East policy, as reported by the Al-Arab media.  

Saudi Arabia and the Emirates disagree with Joe Biden's guidelines on very important issues such as the war in Yemen and the nuclear agreement with Iran.  

The US government has lost some interest in the Middle East, and in the case of the war in Yemen it has reduced arms sales to the Arab coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which is led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the support of the United Arab Emirates.  

Both the Kingdom and the Emirate are also suffering heavy drone and missile attacks by the Houthi militia, which is backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, a major representative of the Shiite branch of Islam, as opposed to the Sunni branch, which is mainly sponsored by Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels continue to fight to undermine the legitimate Yemeni government and greater US military support is lacking. 

On the other hand, there is the issue of the nuclear agreement with Iran, a country that has been singled out by several analysts for destabilising the Middle East region due to its interference in the affairs of other states through Shiite groups, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The United States has made overtures to the Ayatollahs' regime to return to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, which limited Iran's atomic programme. The last US administration of Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement, arguing that the Persian country was in breach of the agreement, and imposed sanctions. Iran responded by failing to comply with important points of the agreement, such as uranium enrichment levels.  

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Israel see Iran as a great threat if it develops its nuclear programme, and the possibility of returning to the nuclear pact by the United States and various European countries is causing great concern about the possibility that it could achieve nuclear weapons, something that Tehran denies.  

These US policy shifts in the Middle East have disconcerted Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, hence the current political distancing, as media outlets such as Al-Arab have pointed out. 

The United States is trying to focus its foreign policy more on Asia in order to confront the rise of China, both politically and economically, which places China as the main rival of the Americans in the current geopolitical contest. This scenario reduces America's interest in the Middle East, which could be of great concern to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirate.  

America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.