Biden warns of ‘consequences’ for Saudi Arabia after oil production cuts

Biden warns of ‘consequences’ for Saudi Arabia after oil production cuts

Joe Biden warned Saudi Arabia would face “consequences” for defying Washington in announcing large cuts to oil production last week, as he vowed to re-evaluate the US’s relationship with Riyadh in talks with Congress next month.

“I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be consequences,” the US president told CNN in an interview on Tuesday night. “When the House and Senate get back [after the midterm elections] . . . there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done.”

Biden’s vow to punish Saudi Arabia for its move to cut oil production, which threatens a surge in oil prices, came as he downplayed the risk of a deep downturn in the US economy, even as the IMF issued a gloomy forecast for the global economy in 2023.

“I don’t think there will be a recession,” Biden said of the US. “If it is, it’ll be a very slight recession. That is, we’ll move down slightly.”

Biden has come under increasing pressure from Democrats in Congress in recent days to take a much tougher line against Saudi Arabia after a move that many on Capitol Hill saw as a betrayal of the two countries’ longstanding strategic and