President Biden ‘re-evaluating’ US-Saudi ties for siding with Russia on OPEC oil cut

On Monday, Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez urged to freeze all US cooperation including weapons sales and security with Saudi Arabia in response to their continued support for Russia. This also comes after last week when OPEC+ decided to reduce its oil production by two million barrels a day, the largest supply cut in the past two years.

According to a National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, President Joe Biden will work with Congress to adjust its policies with Saudi Arabia amid the outrage over the OPEC+ decision in which Saudi Arabia plays a leading role. Kirby spoke in an interview with CNN, about growing calls from United States Congress, to cut off weapons sales and security cooperation to Riyadh.

He indicated that Biden was willing to discuss these plans and proposals with lawmakers, “This is a relationship that we need to continue to re-evaluate, that we need to be willing to revisit. And certainly, in light of the OPEC+ decision, I think that’s where he is,” he said during the interview, indicated the media reports.

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These remarks are made a day after Democratic Senator Menendez said that Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman has decided to “help underwrite '' Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, “through the OPEC+ cartel”. Since Russia is both a major oil producer and also a part of OPEC+.

He added, “There simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict…either you support the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from violently wiping off an entire country off of the map, or you support him,” Menendez also warned that choosing the latter will be a “terrible decision driven by economic self-interest.”

“I will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough,” said the Democratic senator regarding the recent increase in Russian missile attacks in several cities across Ukraine. This was also condemned by president Biden earlier.

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However, it is not just Menendez, as members of Congress, Richard Blumenthal and Ro Khanna echoed a similar sentiment in their opinion piece they wrote for Politico, which indicated that the OPEC+ oil cut was a “pointed blow to the US”. They also opined how Washington can retaliate by immediately holding back the “massive transfer of American warfare technology into the eager hands of the Saudis.”

Saudi Arabia once played a key role in US’s policy in the middle east, but following the OPEC+ decision, members from both Democrat and Republican parties in the US are pushing for measures and punishments against the Kingdom. Previously Saudi Arabia has purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons from Washington and has promised to buy more. Notably, members of congress have to be notified of every sale even though the review process is largely a formality.

(With inputs from agencies)

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