Biden to ‘re-evaluate’ Saudi relations after Opec cuts, White House says

Biden to ‘re-evaluate’ Saudi relations after Opec cuts, White House says

US President Joe Biden is re-evaluating America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia after the Opec+ decision last week to cut oil production, a top White House adviser said on Tuesday, as tensions between Washington and Riyadh continue to rise.

“I think the president’s been very clear that 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,” John Kirby, the National Security Council’s senior communications adviser, told CNN on Tuesday.

Kirby’s comments come after senior Democrats on Capitol Hill have been calling on both the White House and Congress to take a much tougher stance on Saudi Arabia in light of the production cuts, which were announced just four weeks before the US midterm elections, threatening a new surge in oil prices.

Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, called for a freeze in co-operation with Saudi Arabia, possibly including a halt to weapons sales to the kingdom.

“I will not greenlight any co-operation with Riyadh until the kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough,” Menendez said.

Other lawmakers, including top Democrats on the