RIYADH, Aug 1: Saudi Arabia is under constant negative focus during the ongoing US election campaign and the Saudis are uneasy about the development. The kingdom has criticized Democratic presidential challenger Senator John Kerry for "bashing" it when he called on the United States to cut its dependence on Saudi oil.

"Saudi bashing is not an energy policy," an official with the Saudi embassy in Washington told news agencies. Earlier also it was reported in the US media that in order to facilitate victory of George Bush in his bid for the second term, Saudi Arabia had ensured lower petrol prices at around the election time. Both the Saudis and the American administration had termed the accusation baseless.

In his nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night, Mr Kerry said he wants America to use technology to become energy independent and end its reliance on Saudi oil.

"I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation - not the Saudi royal family," he said. The personal and financial ties between the Saudi royal family and President Bush and his family have been criticized in books and in Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11".

Saudi Arabia has one-fourth of the world's proven crude oil reserves and is the largest foreign oil supplier to the United States - providing 17 per cent of US crude imports.

The Saudi embassy official said Saudi Arabia had been a reliable supplier of oil to the US market for decades and expects to continue in that role whether or not Kerry becomes president.

"This is an election year ... and unfortunately Saudi bashing is expected," he said. The Saudi government does not plan to send an official response to Mr Kerry, but Riyadh has expressed displeasure over past anti-Saudi comments by US politicians, and the Kerry campaign is aware of them, he said.

The United States itself is to blame for its dependence on foreign oil imports to meet more than half its petroleum demand, the Saudi official said. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has urged the United States to produce vehicles with better mileage, but US consumers keep buying gas-guzzling SUVs.

"We're not making them (SUVs)," he said. Democratic Party platform calls for the United States to end its dependence on Middle East oil and develop crude supplies from countries such as Russia and Canada which are outside the OPEC cartel.