Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports to South Korea, the country's Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan said Monday.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports to South Korea, the country's Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan said Monday.

" Saudi Arabia promised to provide more oil than now if things get worse... and so did the UAE," Bahk told reporters on a visit to the United Arab Emirates . "So I think this is sufficient for us in order not to feel the gap if the Iranians (reduce oil supplies)," the minister added.

He said South Korea has yet to decide on reducing imports from Iran . And he declined to specify the amount of oil promised by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. "There is no specific figure yet," he said.

The U.S. has been pressing South Korea and other Asian countries to curb their purchases of Iranian oil, as Washington tightens sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. During a visit to New Delhi on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised India for starting to reduce its oil purchases from Iran , and said there are adequate supplies in the market for India to make further cuts.

South Korea is worried about the effect of rising oil prices on its economy and has been urging the U.S. and other major countries to release strategic oil reserves to counter any major increase in crude prices.

Bahk said South Korea has also been promised increased supplies from Oman , though the two countries have yet to reach a written agreement.

Διαβάστε ακόμα