According to Associated Press html on the 210th, Robert Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, proposed on Monday that the United States freezes all cooperation with Saudi Arabia . According to reports, this is one of the strongest responses from the United States to "OPEC+" to cut oil production. In a relevant statement, New Jersey Senator Menendez specifically called on the United States to cut off all arms sales and security cooperation with Saudi Arabia. According to reports, this is one of the foundations of the 80-year strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Menendes, a Democratic Party member, threatened that he would not approve any cooperation between Washington and Riyadh until “Saudi reassesses its position on the Ukrainian war.” "He also said, "We've had enough." "
On October 5th local time, the 45th Joint Ministerial Supervision Committee Meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) and the 33rd Ministerial Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing Countries ("OPEC+") were held in Vienna, Austria. The meeting decided that from November 2022, "OPEC+" will reduce the total oil output by 2 million barrels per day.
"OPEC+" ministerial meeting Source: Visual China
The news caused dissatisfaction in the United States as soon as it came out. U.S. mainstream media almost unanimously emphasized that the United States was greatly disappointed by this, and called the "OPEC+" move "enemies with the West." White House said in a statement that US President Biden was disappointed with the short-sighted decision to cut production quotas.
The Associated Press pointed out that in addition to Menendes, more and more Democratic lawmakers are calling on the United States to stop selling billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia every year. They accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of actually ignoring a decades-long agreement. Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia provides reliable oil supply, while the U.S. military industry raises Saudi Arabia's stake. For security.
On the same day that OPEC announced production cuts, Democratic lawmakers proposed a new bill to prevent the U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia. US media analyzed that considering the key role Menendez played in foreign policy legislation, his above remarks on Monday increased the possibility that the U.S. Congress may take action to retaliate against Saudi Arabia after the November midterm elections.
report pointed out that it is not clear to what extent Menendez and other Democratic lawmakers will cut off the U.S. arms deals and most other cooperation with Saudi Arabia in actual actions, and it is not clear whether the Biden administration will agree.
Also, according to the US "politics" website (Politico) report on the 10th, Democratic senator Dick Dick, the majority whip from Illinois , Dick Durbin recently accused Saudi Arabia of “never a trusted ally of the United States” on the grounds that Saudi Arabia has “bad human rights record.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer previously said some legislative responses are under consideration, including a bill against so-called OPEC “price manipulation and antitrust violations,” known as the NOPEC, which was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year with 17 votes in favor and 4 votes against.
Schumer said in a statement last week that Saudi Arabia helped Russia “do everything” in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and Americans will “always remember”. The statement said, “We are considering all legislative tools to best deal with this shocking and cynical behavior, including the NOPEC bill. ”
There are also some Democratic lawmakers calling for a reduction in U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia in response. Three lawmakers have proposed a bill that, if passed, will allow U.S. troops and equipment to be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia and the UAE within 90 days.
(Editor: ZLQ)
