Saudi Arabia denies bin Salman mocking US president

Saudi Arabia has denied reports that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman mocks US President Joe Biden in his private sessions.

“The kingdom’s leaders have always respected for US presidents. We believe deeply in the importance of a relationship based on mutual respect,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.

“These allegations are completely false,” he stressed.

The Wall Street Journal, citing Saudi sources, said that bin Salman mocks Biden in private, making fun of his gaffes and questioning his mental acuity.

According to the US newspaper, the sources said the crown prince has told advisers that he hasn't been impressed with Biden since his days as Vice President and that he prefers former President Donald Trump.

The White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre described the allegations as "ridiculous."

“The President has been very clear from the beginning of this administration that we needed to review our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” she said.

“The decisions that OPEC made recently, we saw it as them aligning with Russia. And that is going to hurt many, many economies across the globe,” the spokeswoman added.

On Oct. 5, Saudi Arabia, which chairs the OPEC organization, voted to reduce oil output by about 2 million barrels per day.

Biden has vocally criticized the decision and the kingdom, warning of impending consequences, but without specifying the nature of his response.