A huge oil problem has arisen in the United States, as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and the Sheikh of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin al-Nahyan, have both rejected the American request for talks with President Joe Biden to find a “golden mean” in the oil supply.

“The White House has failed to secure a phone call between US President Joe Biden and the de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the US tries to contain rising oil prices,” Middle East and US officials said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Riyadh‘s relationship with Washington has deteriorated since the Biden administration took office with Saudi Arabia asking the US for more support for its intervention in the Yemeni civil war as well as legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the US, Saudi officials said.

Notably, Mohammed bin Salman is facing several lawsuits in the US, including the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

According to the American newspaper, both Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sheikh Mohammed bin al-Nahyan of the UAE refused to communicate by telephone with the US president at the request of Washington.

“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn‘t happen,” claimed an unnamed US official. “This discussion would take place in the context of Saudi Arabia‘s oil activation,” he added.

Last week, OPEC refused to increase oil production despite Western appeals.

The Wall Street Journal‘s information comes as the Biden administration seeks to increase oil supply after yesterday‘s official announcement that it is freezing imports of Russian oil, with the price of oil soaring to $130 a barrel, the highest level in 14 years.

Meanwhile, the US has opened for the first time in years a channel of communication with Venezuela, an ally of the Putin government, which has the largest oil reserves in the world.