Intel: How the US is relying on Riyadh to reassure global markets

In a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to “rise to the occasion” as the escalating coronavirus crisis and the kingdom’s standoff with Russia continue to hammer global markets. 

“Secretary Pompeo and the Crown Prince focused on the need to maintain stability in global energy markets amid the worldwide response,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. “The Secretary stressed that as a leader of the G20 and an important energy leader, Saudi Arabia has a real opportunity to rise to the occasion and reassure global energy and financial markets when the world faces serious economic uncertainty.”

The two men also expressed their “deep concern” over the coronavirus pandemic, and Pompeo thanked the crown prince for his country’s “continued partnership in the face of the Iranian regime’s destabilizing regional behavior.”

Why it matters: The secretary’s exchange with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler contains some of the Donald Trump administration’s most forceful words yet for Riyadh amid its escalating feud with Moscow over market share.