Iraqi president accuses the west over the fuel crisis

Iraq's President Saddam Hussein has accused the west of tightening its fist on the oil producing countries so as to be able to buy the oil at lower prices.

In statements quoted by the Iraqi dailies on Monday, the Iraqi president said the major countries will work " to tighten its fist on the oil countries on the ground that the west knows that the world needs extra amounts of oil."

In a meeting he presided over for the Iraqi cabinet which listened to a report submitted by the Iraqi oil minister Amer Muhammad Rashid on the results of meetings of the ministerial conference of the OPEC ( Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ), the Iraqi president added the changes in the oil prices mean the world needs extra amounts of oil more than what is available now.

He explained that the main reason for fees imposed by the western countries on oil is to minimize costs, adding when " the main reason intends to minimize consumption, this means there is a concern over the amount of oil (available)."