Unrequited love: Despite body language, Saudis balk on oil
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, April 29, 2005
Saudi Arabia and the United States have failed to
resolve the issue of future crude oil production.
The Washington Institute said in a report that Crown Prince Abdullah Bin
Abdul Aziz and President George Bush ended a three-hour summit on April 25
in disagreement on several issues, Middle East Newsline reported. Author Simon Henderson said the biggest
disagreement regarded the level of Saudi oil output.
"Despite any personal rapport suggested by the widely publicized
photograph of the two leaders walking hand in hand, the joint statement
itself — whose wording was no doubt drafted by top aides before the
meeting — points to significant policy disagreements," Henderson wrote.
"Perhaps the biggest source of U.S. disappointment at the Crawford
summit, and the focus of the greatest media attention, was the lack of
progress on oil issues," the report said. "Washington had hoped to gauge the
kingdom's ability — as the world's largest oil exporter and effective
leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — to
influence prices downward from their present peak of more than $55 per
barrel."
The report said the two leaders failed in their joint statement to refer
to previous Saudi pledges to ensure oil market stability. Instead, Abdullah
and Bush pledged to cooperate "so that the oil supply from Saudi Arabia will
be available and secure."
Copyright © 2005 East West
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