President Joe Biden Will ‘reassess’ US relationship with Saudi Arabia Following OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production, a White House spokesman said Tuesday.
Biden “has been very clear that this is a relationship that we must continue to reassess, that we must be willing to review,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
“Certainly in light of the OPEC decision, I think that’s where he is,” he added.
Last week OPEC +, which brings together the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia and its 10 partners led by Russia, decided to cut its crude production, which pushed prices higher.
The decision was seen as a diplomatic snub for Biden, who traveled to Saudi Arabia in July to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite having sworn to turn the kingdom into an international “rogue” state behind the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It also comes at a sensitive time for Biden’s Democratic Party, which is faces November midterm elections with rising consumer prices a key talking point for the Republican opposition.
Kirby added that Biden “is ready to work with Congress to think about what that relationship (with Saudi Arabia) should look like in the future.”
Kirby’s remarks come after the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee threatened Monday to block any future arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
“I have to denounce the recent decision by the Saudi Arabian government to help support (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war (in Ukraine) through the OPEC+ cartel,” Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said.
Two other Democrats, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Ro Khanna, wrote a column on Politico along the same lines: “The United States should not hand over such unlimited control of strategic defense systems to a country apparently allied with our greatest enemy.”
In August, Washington had announced that it would sell 300 Patriot missiles and their equipment to Saudi Arabia for $3.05 billion.
The partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia was sealed after World War II, providing military protection in exchange for access to Petroleum.
The strategic relationship, dotted with crisis, was relaunched by Biden’s predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, with arms sales as a key element.