Biden left empty-handed after Middle East visit: No more Saudi oil

US President Biden returned home empty-handed after a four-day tour of the Middle East. On the last day, he tried to convince Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, but it was impossible, says Saudi Prince bin Salman.

Additional oil production by Saudi Arabia has led to lower fuel prices, which have risen sharply in the United States and the rest of the world in recent months. But bin Salman says his country cannot go beyond 13 million barrels a day. “Our kingdom does not have the extra capacity to further increase production.”

Biden’s last appointment was in the Saudi city of Jeddah, where he met with the leaders of six Gulf states: Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. In his inaugural address, he said the United States wants to be an active and engaged partner in the Middle East and called on leaders to promote press freedom and free democracy.

“A government free of corruption, operating with transparency and respecting the rule of law, is the best way to develop and respond to the needs of the people,” the US president said.

Yesterday, Biden was horrified by his face-to-face meeting with Bin Salman, who the US has blamed for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. According to Biden, he has made this position “clear.”

In the conversation, bin Salman called the Khashoggi case “a painful incident and a terrible mistake.” But according to the Saudi foreign minister, he pointed out to Biden that the US has made similar mistakes in Iraq.

Biden hit out at bin Salman in the crowd: