OPEC Will Not Use Oil as a Weapon in Iraq War - 26 March, 2003

OPEC will not follow Iraq's call on the Arab member states of the world oil cartel to use oil as a weapon in the Iraqi crisis and boycott US and British goods, a high-ranking official of the Vienna-based OPEC general secretariat told RIA Novosti. According to him, it is impossible to do this since practically all OPEC contracts depend on oil exports.

In addition, we strive to achieve stability on the world energy markets and balance out the demand for and supply of crude oil so that an optimal situation be obtained for both oil producers and oil consumers, including the USA, the OPEC representative pointed out.

The source stressed that the OPEC member countries' positions in this issue might vary but the policy of the cartel as a whole remained unchanged - to supply timely enough oil to the world markets and not to interfere in politics.