Jean-Pierre Dodges on Whether Saudis Backed Away from Oil Deal: ‘The Trip Was Not about Oil’

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that “parts” of the report by The New York Times that American officials believed they had a deal with Saudi Arabia on oil supplies that the Saudis backed out of were “mischaracterized,” but deflected when asked if there was a deal the Saudis backed away from by stating that “the trip was not about oil.”

Jean-Pierre stated, “So, we have been very clear about how we believe parts of that report [were] mischaracterized, and there [have] been some changes that have been made to that report. Look, we’ve also been clear that, our trip, that the President’s trip to the Middle East was not about oil. What the President is focused on currently and today and has been for the past several months since the war started — remember, because of Russia’s war, we have seen a spike in gas prices, so as you hear us say, Russia’s tax hike, and so, we have done everything that we can and continue to do the work — the President has — to lower the prices for the American people. That’s why you have seen gas prices go down.”

Host Wolf Blitzer then asked, “But was there an understanding, Karine, with the Saudis that the Saudis then backed away from?”

Jean-Pierre responded, “Again, the trip was not about oil. That is not what we went to do there. What we wanted to do is make sure that that region is so critical, and you saw the Israeli president was visiting President Biden today and it was about their integration back into the Middle East, and so, we wanted to play a role in that. And let’s not forget what we saw. I remember being on Air Force One, leaving Israel, going to Saudi Arabia. One thing that we did was fly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, which has never been done before. Those are — opening those civilian airways — airlines was incredibly important. So, those are the things that we’re focused on. Let’s not forget the Yemen truce, which is another reason that we thought the trip was incredibly important. And also the Lebanon and Israel maritime agreement that’s about to be signed. And so, there are so many strategic, key elements of the trip that the President did that we saw come out of it that [were] so incredibly important.”

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