By Karuna Thapa
Kathmandu, March 16
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, stated on Wednesday that he will explore an attempt to maintain the gasoline market balanced with the senior leadership of Gulf countries. The prime minister’s office announced that it will meet with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss pumping extra oil to help stabilize the gasoline market, which has been destroyed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
His trip to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia is thought to be an attempt to discourage himself from Russian oil and keep the oil market stable. Johnson has landed in Abu Dhabi to meet with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. From here, he’ll travel to Riyadh.
His visit is anticipated to focus on the execution penalty, which Saudi Arabia killed 81 individuals on Saturday. Johnson will meet the true Saudi leader, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after becoming one of the few Western politicians to visit Riyadh after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khasogi in 2018.
Since Biden’s inauguration, there has been no formal communication between the US President-elect and Prince Mohammed.
The British Prime Minister will press Prince Mohammed to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights concerns, as well as the country’s recent mass executions. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world’s top oil exporters with links to Russia, have resisted taking a position against Russia thus far.
The consequences of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘brutal’ strike, Johnson warned at the airport, will be felt well beyond Europe.
