RIYADH — British
Prime Minister
Boris Johnson met Wednesday with oil-rich Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, to lobby for higher production after Russia's
invasion of Ukraine sent markets into turmoil.
اضافة اعلان
Johnson, one of the few Western leaders to
visit Riyadh since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul, spoke with Prince Mohammed after talks with Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed in the UAE, another oil-rich Gulf state.
The UK leader is attempting to rein in oil
prices, which soared to nearly $140 a barrel before dropping below $100, and
help end the West's dependency on Russian oil following the invasion of
Ukraine.
His visit coincides with fresh condemnation
of
Saudi Arabia's human rights record after 81 people were put to death in a
mass execution on Saturday. Rights groups questioned whether they had received
fair trials.
Also in the region, British-Iranians Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe and
Anoosheh Ashoori were released after years in detention
in Iran on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and spying for
Israel, respectively.
The families of both believe they were being
held as political prisoners until the UK settled a £400-million ($520 million)
debt for defense equipment dating back to the time of the Shah of Iran.
Johnson met Prince Mohammed after discussing
"the stability of the global oil markets" with Emirati royal Sheikh
Mohammed, according to the UAE's official WAM news agency.
"The leaders welcomed the long-standing
partnership between our two countries and discussed opportunities to increase
collaboration between the UK and UAE on energy security, green technology, and
trade," a Downing Street spokesperson said in London.
Before leaving for Riyadh, Johnson promised
to raise human rights issues with Prince Mohammed, but he also stressed
Britain's "very important relationship" with the oil-rich Gulf.
"It's not just a question of looking at
the
OPEC countries and what they can do to increase supply, though that is
important," Johnson told British media.
"When we look at the dependency, the
West in particular, has built up on Putin's hydrocarbons, on Putin's oil and
gas, we can see what a mistake that was because he's been able to
blackmail the West."
'Putin's addiction'
Johnson's spokesman said the prime minister
would also ask Prince Mohammed to condemn
Russia's President Vladimir Putin
over the assault on Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are two of
the world's biggest oil exporters and both have ties to Moscow, have so far
avoided taking a position against Russia.
But Johnson said before leaving that the
impact of Putin's "brutal and unprovoked" assault will be felt far
beyond Europe.
He said as Western sanctions begin to bite,
a new international coalition was needed to offset their impact on consumers
already feeling the pinch from rising inflation.
"The world must wean itself off Russian
hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas," he said in a
statement.
"Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort."
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the UK's two
largest economic partners in the region, with bilateral trade worth £12.2
billion and £10.4 billion respectively in 2020, Johnson's office said.
Russia is the world's largest producer of
gas and one of the biggest oil producers.
Like the US, Britain plans to phase out
Russian oil imports by the end of the year, as part of wide-ranging sanctions
targeting Russian businesses and billionaires.
US President
Joe Biden and Prince Mohammed
haven't spoken since Biden took office.
Torbjorn Soltvedt, Middle East and North
Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said that "without this rift, it is
unlikely Johnson would now be spearheading oil diplomacy efforts in the
Gulf".
He said the odds were "stacked against
Johnson" in changing
Saudi oil policy, but that the UAE "may be more
willing to open the taps" as it wants to capitalize on its oil reserves
more quickly.
But the UAE on March 10 reaffirmed its
commitment to OPEC+ alliance agreements to stick to existing output targets
through April.
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