A White House official said on Tuesday that President Biden is re-examining the relationship with Saudi Arabia after it joined with Russia to reduce oil production.
The official said that the president has made it clear that the relationship needs to be reexamined. I think that is where he is right now.
Mr. Kirby indicated that the Democratic congressional leaders who were incensed by the announcement of the oil production cut would be willing to take action. The Democrats want to stop American security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales, and strip the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries of their legal immunity so they can be sued for violating American antitrust laws.
Mr. Kirby said that the president would be willing to work with Congress to find a solution to the relationship with Saudi Arabia. He sounded like he needed to do something. He thinks that he will be willing to have those conversations right away. I don't believe this is something that will have to wait for a long time.
The comments came just a day after Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for an immediate freeze on all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Either you support the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from violently wiping off an entire country off of the map, or you support him. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made a terrible decision.
The second-ranking Democrat in the Senate said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia wanted Russia to win the war inUkraine. He said that he would be very candid about it. The United States is being attacked by Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The decision by the Saudi-led OPEC Plus group to cut oil production by up to two million barrels was seen as a betrayal by the White House, which had sought to improve relations with the kingdom.
Despite a campaign promise to make the kingdom an international pariah for the killing of the Saudi journalist, the president gave a fistbump to the crown prince. According to the C.I.A., Prince Mohammed ordered the murder and dismemberment of Mr.
Biden went along with advisers who argued that it was worth the political hit to restore ties with Saudi Arabia for a number of reasons, including the need to bolster energy markets. While no specific announcements were made during his visit to Jeddah in July, American officials said at the time that they had an understanding with Saudi Arabia that it would increase oil production in the fall.
The Saudi decision to do the opposite in defiance of American entreaties was a blow to Mr. Biden and opened him up to further criticism even from fellow Democrats who argued that Saudi Arabia should be punished The legislation requires the removal of American troops and defensive systems from Saudi Arabia and the U.A.
After falling for more than three months, gas prices are rising again, increasing by 12 cents a gallon on average over the last week to $3.92 The White House was hoping for a drop in gas prices to help the Democrats.
The anger at Saudi Arabia in Washington increased in the last couple of days due to Russia's latest airstrikes against civilians. Democrats framed the dispute with Saudi Arabia less about domestic gas prices and more about the kingdom's willingness to aid Mr. Putin.
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