- The US is trying to patch up relations with the
UAE and Saudi Arabia after a falling out over oil. - Both countries' leaders have refused US calls to increase oil production, a move which would've angered Putin.
The US is working to repair tattered relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE after militarily disappointing them and seeing gas prices skyrocket.
In recent weeks, both nations have been at odds with the US over Washington's request for them to increase oil production and help counter the negative effects of the US ban on Russian oil imports.
Even before that, the UAE was angered that the US had failed to guarantee its safety following a string of missile attacks on its territory from Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have declined US calls to boost oil production, a move which would anger Russia.
UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBZ and MBS respectively, reportedly declined calls from President Joe Biden at the time.
Furthermore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are currently fighting a war in Yemen against the Houthis, and the UAE has been calling on the US to help ensure its security, but has been let down.
Secretary of State
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
On January 17, Houthi missiles and drones hit three oil tanker trucks and a building site in Abu Dhabi, killing three civilians and injuring six.
The Emiratis were disappointed with the US response, with MBZ refusing to meet Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, when he visited Abu Dhabi in February because his trip came a more than 20 days after the attacks, Axios reported.
However, Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE's ambassador to Washington, later told Axios the meeting between Blinken and MBZ has helped "move the relationship between the UAE and the US back on the right track."
The Saudis and the UAE are still asking the US for additional US military support and intelligence sharing to defend themselves against Houthi attacks, the Financial Times reported.
The FT reported that the UAE and Saudi Arabia have said they would be more willing to cooperate on oil if Biden further guaranteed their security.
In a clear show of the US intentions to improve relations, the US hurriedly sent additional Patriot antimissile interceptors to Saudi Arabia last month, just as the effects of the Russia oil crisis began to bite, The Wall Street Journal reported,
US officials said the move was in line with the sentiment that "America will have the backs of our friends in the region," The Journal said.
However, the UAE has also been continually disappointed by Biden's decision not to designate the Houthis as a terror group.
The current split between the US and Saudi Arabia is at its widest for years, and more than 30 House Democrats recently called on Biden, who promised to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" in 2019, to ostracize Riyadh for good.