Kremlin praises Opec+ for countering US 'mayhem'

The Kremlin on Sunday praised Opec+ for agreeing production cuts that had successfully countered the "mayhem" sown by the United States in global energy markets.

The Opec+ decision to cut oil production despite stiff U.S. opposition has further strained already tense relations between President Joe Biden's White House and Saudi Arabia's royal family, Reuters reported on Saturday.

The White House pushed hard to prevent the output cut. Biden hopes to keep US gasoline prices from spiking again ahead of midterm elections in which his Democratic party is struggling to maintain control of the US Congress.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was very good that such "balanced, thoughtful and planned work of the countries, which take a responsible position within Opec, is opposed to the actions of the US".

"This at least balances the mayhem that the Americans are causing," Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a decision by Opec+ to cut oil production was "unhelpful and unwise" for the global economy, the Financial Times reported.

"We're very worried about developing countries and the problems they face," Yellen told the newspaper in an interview.

She also criticised allies for being slow to send financial aid to Ukraine.

"The pace of transferring money to Ukraine is far too slow," Yellen added, pointing out that some countries that had pledged assistance had not got round to disbursing it.

Peskov said that the United States had begun to lose its composure over the Opec decision and was even trying to push additional volumes of its reserves into the market.

"They are trying to manipulate with their oil reserves by throwing additional volumes into the market. Such a game will not lead to anything good," Peskov said. — Reuters