WASHINGTON — Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demanded on Monday that all American cooperation with Saudi Arabia be put on hold. This was one of the strongest expressions of American rage to date over Saudi Arabia’s reductions in oil production, which support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Menendez expressly urged cutting off all security cooperation and arms sales, which have been a cornerstone of the United States’ more than a 70-year strategic alliance with the oil kingdom, beyond what is required to protect Americans and American interests.
Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey and the chairman of the committee, pledged he would not “approve any collaboration with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its posture with regard to the crisis in Ukraine. There has been enough.
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He made his statement four days after OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Russia announced a 2 million barrel per day reduction in oil production. The cuts, which are being led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, support the high oil prices that enable President Vladimir Putin to continue financing his eight-month invasion of Ukraine.
The production reduction also jeopardises American efforts to make the war financially unsustainable for Russia, threatens an already unstable global economy, and puts President Joe Biden and Democrats at risk of having to deal with rising gas prices just before the midterm elections in the United States.
ICYMI: My take on the politics of the OPEC+ oil production cut (published originally last Wednesday) #OOTT #SaudiArabia #Russia #MidTermElections https://t.co/m3Uzn3vmnL
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 10, 2022
Menendez’s remark on Monday adds him to the growing list of Democrats who have called for an end to the annual U.S. military supplies to Saudi Arabia worth billions of dollars since the announcement by OPEC and Russia.
The Saudi side of a long-standing agreement that has seen the U.S. military and defence industry provides security for Saudi Arabia in exchange for Saudi Arabia providing a consistent flow of oil to world markets is accused by the Democrats of effectively flouting the Saudi side of the agreement by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Among the Democrats who criticised Prince Mohammed last week for appearing to embrace Putin’s invasion was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Then, according to Schumer, senators were considering legislative alternatives to address Saudi Arabia’s “appalling and extremely cynical behaviour.”
“With friends like these — the Saudis — who needs enemies?” @IvoHDaalder asks @mitchellreports. “We need to make sure that we stand together and remember who our real friends are. They’re in Europe, they’re in Asia. They’re apparently not in the gulf.”https://t.co/NuSR7GoqwA
— Chicago Council on Global Affairs (@ChicagoCouncil) October 8, 2022
Within a day of the OPEC decision, Democratic lawmakers introduced new legislation to halt American weaponry exports to the kingdom. Given his crucial role in guiding foreign policy legislation, Menendez’s action on Monday increases the likelihood that Congress will take measures to sanction Saudi Arabia during the lame-duck session following the November elections.
It’s unclear how far Menendez and other Democrats would go to halt weapons transactions and the majority of other forms of collaboration with Saudi Arabia in practice or whether the Biden administration would support them. Last week, Biden expressed his dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia’s role in the most recent reduction in oil production and stated that the US was considering its options.
On Monday, the White House did not immediately respond to Menendez’s action. The U.S. and Saudi partnership suffered one of the worst blows ever last week as a result of restrictions on oil production. They include the 2018 murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia, in which the U.S. intelligence community determined the crown prince had a significant role.
Americans also criticise the crown prince for continuing to appear amicable with Putin and for refusing to participate in U.S.-led attempts to isolate and punish Putin for his invasion of Ukraine in February.
Menendez stated in his statement that there was “simply no place to play both sides of this battle – either you support him or you assist the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from forcefully erasing a whole country off the map.” “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made the awful decision—motivated by economic self-interest—to choose the latter.” In an effort to mend fences with Prince Mohammed, Biden went to Saudi Arabia in July and gave the prince an awkward fist bump.
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