Saudi-US ties 'not some high school romance', White House says as oil spat persists

A US official has hit out at comments made by Saudi Arabia's energy minister amid the two countries' ongoing spat over OPEC+ oil production cuts.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Tuesday that Riyadh were being the "maturer guys" in the fallout of the production cut set to begin next month.

Asked during a press briefing to respond to the Saudi minister's comments, communications coordinator for the White House's National Security Council John Kirby said: "It’s not like some high school romance here.

"We’re talking about a significant, important bilateral relationship — a partnership that has survived over 80 years... And I don’t think talking about it in — in terms like that necessarily lends the gravity of how important this relationship is."

Saudi Arabia and the United States have in recent weeks traded bitter barbs over the decision by Saudi-led OPEC+- which includes Russia - to cut production by two million barrels a day from November, adding further pressure on soaring crude prices.

Washington has said the decision shows that Riyadh is taking sides with Russia over sanctions imposed on it for its invasion of Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia has insisted that decisions by OPEC+ were taken "purely on economic considerations".

The United States has vowed to re-evaluate ties with the oil-rich kingdom since the cut, which was seen as a diplomatic slap in the face for President Joe Biden.

The US President visited Saudi Arabia as part of a Middle East tour in July. Prior to the visit, Washington had been pushing Riyadh to increase its oil production.