UK to urge Saudi Arabia to raise oil output amid plans to reduce dependency on Russian resources

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge Saudi Arabian officials to increase their oil production amid the West's plans to reduce dependency on Russian energy resources.

Starting a day-long trip to Saudi Arabia Tuesday evening, Johnson compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to a drug-pusher feeding on the “addiction” of the Western countries on Russian oil and gas.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of his trip, he said the world needed to “avoid being blackmailed by Putin in the way that so many Western countries sadly have been.”

“We've got to get ourselves off Russian hydrocarbons,” Johnson said.

He added: “They're a massive part of the global market for hydrocarbons. They help to drive the price.

“We need to talk to other producers around the world about how we can move away from that dependence. Vladimir Putin over the last years has been like a pusher, feeding an addiction in Western countries to use hydrocarbons, to use oil and gas. We need to get ourselves off that addiction.”

Johnson is expected to meet Saudi crown prince Muhammed bin Salman.

“We want to build the widest possible coalition to ensure that we focus on what is happening in Ukraine and the effect that that is having on the price of oil and gas,” Johnson added.