President Joe Biden said Thursday the purpose of his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia is not persuading the kingdom to boost oil output, but he has encouraged the Gulf region more broadly to help calm energy markets roiled by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“No, I’m not going to ask them,” Biden told a news conference in Madrid. “All the Gulf states are meeting. I've indicated to them that I thought they should be increasing oil production generically, not to the Saudis, particularly."
