Chapter 622 The Lion Opens His Mouth

If there is a unique person in the Western world, it is definitely France! As a proud Gallic rooster, France is full of personality in every aspect.

For example, in order to fight against the Soviet Union, Western countries had to come together to form the military group NATO. Facing the Soviet Union's rolling armored torrent, this was the only choice that Western countries had to make.

However, France did not do that. Charles de Gaulle at the time did not agree to join NATO at all. France could not tolerate the presence of US troops, nor could it tolerate the United States telling France what to do.

Therefore, France has a great deal of autonomy in its defense policy. France can sell any weapon that NATO cannot sell. Of course, the price is high. After all, France's three armed forces weapons are all developed and produced by themselves, so they cannot share the cost. However, there will definitely be fewer political factors involved.

At the same time, in some international affairs, France will also sing a different tune from the United States in order to show France's presence. It can be said that France is a troublemaker in the Western world, stirring up bad smells for Americans to smell.

Therefore, starting from France and building momentum for the new government in the international community is the most appropriate entry point, which is also the purpose of Andre's trip! Andre's identity is special and important enough. Anyway, everyone knows what happened and there is no need to say it.

Felix smiled. This General Andre was indeed straightforward and fluent. He looked at Andre and said, "What benefits can we get from your request for us to do this?"

There is no great friendship between countries, only naked interests. Since the other party is frank, we will just ask directly to make things clear.

"We can obtain 100 million barrels of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the Soviet Union every year at a price 20% lower than the market price." Andre said, "We can sign this contract for 20 years."

Oil! Now, we can finally hold high the big stick of oil! You know, by integrating the oil resources of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the Soviet Union’s own oil, it can be said that the Soviet Union can now control more than 80% of the world’s oil production!

So, what's next? Of course, it's by reducing production to raise international oil prices! This is a no-brainer. After fighting so many battles and paying so much, what is the purpose? Isn't it just for profit?

Therefore, when the Saudi royal family surrendered, it indicated that the world crude oil price would rise at a rocket speed! In fact, due to the continuous wars in the Middle East, first in Kuwait and then in Saudi Arabia, these wars have caused the world crude oil price to rise all the way. So far, the international crude oil price has reached a high price of 70 US dollars a barrel.

However, this price obviously could not satisfy the Soviet Union. At least it had to be one hundred dollars a barrel!

The Western world, led by the United States, wants to enjoy low-priced crude oil, but that is impossible! These resources in the Middle East must not be manipulated by the United States! In the 1980s, the United States manipulated Saudi Arabia and other countries to maliciously increase crude oil production, lowering the world's crude oil prices, making the Soviet Union's oil exports in a dilemma, and severely hit the Soviet Union's economy. Now, such a situation must never happen again!

At the same time, it is the most appropriate breakthrough to consult with France. In Europe, France is a country with poor oil resources. Its domestic production is far from meeting demand. Therefore, it has to import a large amount of crude oil from abroad every year. Among them, crude oil from the Middle East accounts for 70%, and oil from the Soviet Union accounts for 10%. The remaining 20% ​​comes from Africa. In order to get rid of the situation of energy dependence on imports, France has been vigorously pursuing energy diversification since the 1970s. After various investigations, France chose the nuclear power industry. In the world, France's nuclear power accounts for the largest proportion of power generation. The use of new energy such as nuclear power has reduced the proportion of oil in energy consumption year by year. However, even so, oil consumption is not completely replaceable. For example, this year, France's national energy consumption is about 200 million tons of standard oil, and oil consumption accounts for 50% of it.

Therefore, France's dependence on oil imports is quite high. Now, importing oil at 20% below the market price is definitely a big temptation for France!

What France needs is only international support for the new Saudi government!

Hearing this, Flix shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, we risked offending the entire Western world by supporting the new Saudi government, but all we got was imported oil at 20% below the market price. In this exchange, we are at a disadvantage."

"What do you need?" Andre asked.

"We need Saudi Arabia's oil exploration rights. Our oil companies must enter Saudi Arabia and occupy at least 50 percent of the oil exploration rights," said Flix.

Hearing this, Cuse, who was behind Andre, slammed the table and stood up: "Gauls, don't go too far!"

Because he was young, Qusay was the first one who couldn't help it. Iraq risked the destruction of its country and sent troops to Saudi Arabia, sacrificing countless soldiers in exchange for this. Now, the French just opened their mouths and made a statement, and they want 50% of the mining rights. This is simply robbery!

"It seems that we have a big disagreement." Andre looked at the arrogant Felix and said, "We can make another concession. The currency you pay does not have to be US dollars. We can also accept payment in francs. How about that?"

The current international currency is the US dollar. Even if the Soviet Union imports materials from the West, it needs to pay with US dollars. The Middle East uses the US dollar as the only currency to pay for oil. Now, Andre agreed to pay with francs. This is already a considerable concession. You know, if the French are desperate, they can start the printing press, print money frantically, and then buy oil from here!

Felix said, "Then we can also make some concessions. What do you think of 40% of the mining rights?"

Andre did not bother with the other party at all over the oil exploration rights. There was no need to discuss this aspect at all. According to the prior agreement, Saudi Arabia's oil was divided among Iraq, Iran and the Soviet Union, and it was unacceptable for a fourth country to intervene!

Moreover, what did the French do? Nothing! They dared to ask for a huge price now. It turned out that capitalist countries are not easy to deal with. It seems that they have calculated that they will take advantage of us!