Two Foreign Nations In The Middle East Have Refused Calls With President Biden With Regards To His Losing Battle With Oil Prices

It was reported that the solution to lowering the price of oil and gas can be found at home in the United States, but President Joe Biden has been looking to other places and has had the door slammed in his face.

The leader of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have declined calls from the White House to arrange calls with the president who wants to gain more support for Ukraine and stop the rise in oil prices, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a U.S. official said of the planned phone call between that president and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”

Mr. Biden did speak with Prince Mohammed’s 86-year-old father, King Salman, on Feb. 9, when the two men reiterated their countries’ longstanding partnership. The U.A.E.’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the call between Mr. Biden and Sheikh Mohammed would be rescheduled.

The Saudis have signaled that their relationship with Washington has deteriorated under the Biden administration, and they want more support for their intervention in Yemen’s civil war, help with their own civilian nuclear program as Iran’s moves ahead, and legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the U.S., Saudi officials said. The crown prince faces multiple lawsuits in the U.S., including over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The Emiratis share Saudi concerns about the restrained U.S. response to recent missile strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen against the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, officials said. Both governments are also concerned about the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which doesn’t address other security concerns of theirs and has entered the final stages of negotiations in recent weeks.

Gas prices have been rising steadily, long before the war between Russia and Ukraine, but on Tuesday President Biden announced a ban on Russian energy imports, sending fears that the price would rise even higher.

“Today I’m announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy,” the president said. “We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”

“This is a move that has strong bipartisan support in the Congress and, I believe, in the country,” he said. “Americans have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war.”