US to ‘reevaluate’ relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC move

US to ‘reevaluate’ relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC move

The White House will “reevaluate” the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced cuts to oil production last week in line with Russia’s strategic interests and ahead of key midterm elections in the United States.

“I think the president’s been very clear that this is a relationship that we need to continue to reevaluate, that we need to be willing to revisit,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday. “And certainly in light of the OPEC decision, I think that’s where he is.”

Why it matters: The White House’s statement follows a wave of bitter criticism from Democrats in Congress calling into question broad US support for Saudi Arabia due its role in the oil cartel’s decision to slash production by 2 million barrels per day.

The move by OPEC and its allies has already begun to raise global oil prices and comes as Europe stands on the threshold of a winter energy crisis. Russian hydrocarbons to the continent have all but halted as a result of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, called late on Monday for an unprecedented halt to “all aspects of cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any