Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan defended on Tuesday the recent OPEC+ decision to cut oil production by two million barrels per day. Speaking to Al-Arabiya, Prince Faisal confirmed that Saudi Arabia ties with the United States are strategic and it supported the security and stability in the region. The Saudi minister's remarks came after the US administration officials indicated that Washington is thinking of reviewing its relationship with the Kingdom. Prince Faisal said: "Our relationship with the United States has been institutionalized since it was established." He added that the Saudi-US military cooperation served the interests of both countries. "OPEC+ decision was purely economic and was taken unanimously by the group member states." He said: "OPEC+ members acted responsibly and took the appropriate decision." On the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, he said: "We seek to push the parties to dialogue to stop the conflict." Regarding the Yemen crisis, he explained that the efforts to extend the armistice in Yemen are still in place. "The Yemeni government has shown great flexibility with high responsibility towards Yemen's interest." Speaking on the relationship with Iran, he said: "The dialogue with Iran has not yet yielded tangible results, and we are looking at a sixth round of talks." He pointed out that the relationship with China is economic and we have many joint economic projects. The Saudi minister hoped that Iraq would overcome the political turmoil that is currently taking place." — SG
