Saudi crown prince meets British prime minister in Riyadh

Saudi crown prince meets British prime minister in Riyadh

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed on Wednesday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson the conflict in Ukraine and other regional and international issues, Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic partnership council during the prime minister's visit. Johnson, who was in the United Arab Emirates earlier on Wednesday, is on a visit to the Gulf as part of efforts to secure more oil supplies and increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He will be seeking greater investments in the UK’s renewable energy transition and ways to secure more oil to lessen British dependence on Russian energy supplies. His visit, though, is also about pressing these two major OPEC producers to pump more oil, which would have an immediate impact on Brent Crude prices that nearly touched $140 a barrel in trading last week. Prices have eased to around $100 in recent days, in large part due to new pandemic lockdowns in China. Russian President Vladmir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine is “causing global uncertainty and a spike in the price of oil,” Johnson told reporters in Abu Dhabi ahead of