Kuwait in damage control after official confirms tensions with Saudi Arabia

Kuwaiti authorities have rushed to contain potential anger from neighbouring Saudi Arabia after a leaked video showed a senior official confirming tensions between the two countries.

In footage published by Al Jazeera on Tuesday, the head of Kuwait's national oil company described the Kuwait City meet in late September as "not good".

"There were agreements ready to be signed by both sides but this failed because a technical matter transformed into a political one," Nizar al-Adsani said.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected to strike a deal with the Kuwaiti king during the visit over two jointly owned oil fields - a move that failed to take place.

Sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language service at the time that the atmosphere at the meeting was "tense" after Prince Mohammed tried to impose conditions on Kuwait in regards to its efforts to mediate the Gulf crisis.

Kuwait has played a pivotal role in attempting to mediate a resolution to the blockade of Qatar, but efforts have so far failed because of the Saudi-led bloc's intransigence.

On Tuesday, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation issued a statement on the leaked video, stressing it did not represent the official stance of the government.

"The filmed discussion took place at a private meeting of retired oil sector workers to discuss topics related to the sector… the circulated clip only shows a short part of the discussion," the statement said.

It added that the state-run corporation "appreciated" Prince Mohammed's visit to Kuwait and said that the countries have strong relations.

In a possibly related move, the Kuwait's official news agency released a statement on Wednesday, stressing the "deep-rooted" relations with Riyadh.

Following the September meeting, Kuwaiti authorities arrested three social media users for spreading "false information" on its outcome.