The Kremlin on Oct. 9 praised OPEC+ for agreeing on production cuts that had successfully countered the “mayhem” sown by the U.S. in global energy markets.

The OPEC+ decision to cut oil production despite stiff U.S. opposition has further strained already tense relations between President Joe Biden’s White House and Saudi Arabia’s royal family, Reuters reported on Oct. 8.

The White House pushed hard to prevent the output cut. Biden hopes to keep U.S. gasoline prices from spiking again ahead of midterm elections in which his Democratic party is struggling to maintain control of the U.S. Congress.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was very good that such “balanced, thoughtful and planned work of the countries, which take a responsible position within OPEC, is opposed to the actions of the U.S.”

“This at least balances the mayhem that the Americans are causing,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production was “unhelpful and unwise” for the global economy, the Financial Times reported.

Peskov said that the U.S. had begun to lose its composure over the OPEC decision and was even trying to push additional volumes of its reserves into the market.

“They are trying to manipulate with their oil reserves by throwing additional volumes into the market. Such a game will not lead to anything good,” Peskov said.

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