The United States cannot expect support from NATO ally Turkey when it comes to the thorny oil debates. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country is watching “a country that rises and threatens Saudi Arabia,” referring to the United States, which wants the Saudis to increase oil production rather than reduce it in order to raise prices.
The Turkish minister believes that “bullying is not justified” by the United States. Biden is trying to tackle rising energy prices ahead of the important midterm elections, in which the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is at stake. To appease voters, the Americans allegedly tried to pressure Saudi Arabia to increase oil production so that prices would fall.
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“The problem is not solved by threats”
This “demand” from OPEC+, the important oil cartel of which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a part, went unanswered. Cavusoglu said that if the United States wanted to reduce oil prices, it should end sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. If you want to lower prices, remove those penalties. “The problem cannot be solved by threatening a state,” the Turkish minister said.
Turkey is also mired in high oil prices, but Cavusoglu believes that the way the United States deals with it is not correct. Turkey is not satisfied with high prices, but we are not using threats. At the moment, the whole world needs oil from Venezuela. There is an embargo on Iranian oil.
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