MADRID: US President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would see Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince during a visit to the country next month but that the purpose of his trip was not to press them to increase oil output.

Asked at a press conference in Spain if he would ask the Saudi leaders to increase oil production, Biden said “No.”

He said he had indicated that all the Gulf states should be increasing oil production generically, not Saudi Arabia particularly.

He said he hoped the countries would conclude that it was in their own interest to do so.

His comments came as The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Thursday to stick to earlier approved oil output increases in July and August and refrained from any policy discussions for September.

The decision to stick to the planned increases comes despite calls for bigger increases to tame crude prices.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated concerns about oil supplies, sending prices to record highs this year.

In their monthly video conference, which lasted about an hour, the 23 members of OPEC+ agreed to add another 648,000 barrels per day in August, the same as for July.