The Strategic Communications Coordinator at the White House, John Kirby, considered today, Monday, the decision of a number of members of the "OPEC +" group to voluntarily reduce oil production, as illogical.

"We don't think production cuts are advisable at this time, given the uncertainty in the market," Kirby told reporters.

"Saudi Arabia is still a strategic ally of the United States," Kirby added, noting that the decision to cut production was not a unilateral decision on the part of the Kingdom.

He pointed out that the United States was notified in advance of the decision to cut oil production.

At the same time, Kirby refused to talk about the existence of any diplomatic negotiations between Washington and members of "OPEC +" regarding the volumes of oil production.

Saudi Arabia and a number of other “OPEC” countries announced, on a voluntary basis, to reduce their daily production by more than 1.16 million barrels per day, starting from next May until the end of this year, in the largest production cut since the decision of “OPEC” and “OPEC +” in October 2022, reducing two million barrels per day, describing this step as a precautionary measure to maintain market stability.

For its part, Russia extended its voluntary reduction in production by 500 thousand barrels per day also until the end of the year.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency