WASHINGTON:(International Desk) According to global Times Media Europe,President Joe Biden pledged on Tuesday “there will be consequences” for US relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced last week that it would cut oil production over US objections.
His announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.
Biden, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, would not discuss what options he was considering.
“I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be — there will be consequences,” he said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a policy review would be conducted but gave no timeline for action or information on who would lead the re-evaluation. The United States will be watching the situation closely “over the coming weeks and months,” she said.
OPEC+ announced plans for an oil production cut last week after weeks of lobbying against one by US officials. The United States accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Russia, which objects to a Western cap on the price of Russian oil spurred by the Ukraine invasion.
US officials had been quietly trying to persuade its biggest Arab partner to nix the idea of a production cut, but Saudi Arabia’s de factor ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was not swayed.
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