WASHINGTON: A powerful US senator called Monday for Washington to freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia over its decision to “underwrite” Russia’s war in Ukraine by slashing oil production.
Riyadh, Moscow and other top oil producers agreed last week to a deep cut in production to boost crude prices, in a move denounced by the United States as a concession to Moscow that would hurt the global economy.
“There simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict — 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,” Bob Menendez, who chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia chose the latter in a terrible decision driven by economic self-interest.”
The 13-nation, Saudi-led OPEC cartel and its 10 allies headed by Russia agreed to reduce output by two million barrels a day from November — raising fears that oil prices could soar.
Saudi Arabia said OPEC’s priority was “to maintain a sustainable oil market” but its move drew a swift rebuke from the Washington, which is leading efforts to isolate major energy producer Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “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 US personnel and interests,” Menendez said.
“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.”
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