The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called for the United States to freeze its relationship with Saudi Arabia after the kingdom backed OPEC+’s decision to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels of oil a day.
The U.S. pressured the Saudis to increase oil production to alleviate the loss of Russian oil due to the war in Ukraine. The move foretells higher gas prices for the U.S. and western Europe and coincides with an increase in Russian aggression toward Ukraine in the war.
SCHUMER RIPS SAUDI ARABIA OVER OIL PRODUCTION CUTS
“The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend U.S. personnel and interests,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) said in a statement Monday. “As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough.”
Menendez’s full statement, just released >> pic.twitter.com/FKeHvagdm8
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) October 10, 2022
The Foreign Relations Committee has veto power over foreign weapons sales and could block exports of weapons to Saudi Arabia until it vows to increase oil production.
Menendez is the latest Democratic leader to blast Saudi Arabia for the decision. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the reduction a capitulation to Russia’s war.
“What Saudi Arabia did to help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continue to wage his despicable, vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by Americans. We are looking at all the legislative tools to best deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action, including the NOPEC bill,” Schumer tweeted Thursday.
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The NOPEC legislation would change antitrust legislation to allow OPEC+ member states and businesses to be sued. The White House called on Congress to use “additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices.”
OPEC+ said the move was necessary in order to protect the markets from volatility as the price of oil has dropped over the past few months.
