British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks about energy security on Wednesday with the de facto leaders of Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates but secured no public pledge to ramp up production.
Johnson's trip to Abu Dhabi and Riyadh was aimed at securing oil supplies and raising pressure on President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow and soaring world energy prices.
So far Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose close ties with Washington are under strain, have snubbed U.S. pleas to ramp up oil production to tame the rise in crude prices that threatens global recession after the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The group has been raising output gradually each month by 400,000 barrels a day, resisting pressure to act more quickly.
Johnson and the crown prince also agreed on the need to bolster security, defence and intelligence cooperation to counter threats including from Houthi forces who have fought a lengthy conflict in Yemen against Saudi and UAE forces.Johnson is only the second major Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 killing by Saudi government agents in Istanbul.