Source: Global Times [Global Times Comprehensive Report] Bob Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed on the 10th to prevent all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the future, and urged the Biden administration to "freeze" all cooperation between the

Source: Global Times

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez 10 vowed on the 310th to prevent the United States from selling all weapons to Saudi in the future, and urged the Biden administration to "freeze" all cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia. AP said this is one of the strongest responses from the United States to "OPEC+" to cut oil production. However, experts believe that it is unlikely that the United States and Saudi Arabia will completely "break up".

"We have had enough." According to the US Capitol Hill newspaper on the 10th, Menendes issued a statement on the same day saying that the "OPEC+" decision to cut production means that Saudi Arabia "supports" Russia. "Unless it is absolutely necessary to protect American personnel and interests, the United States must immediately freeze our cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all aspects, including any arms sales and security cooperation. I will not approve any cooperation with Riyadh unless Saudi Arabia reassesses its position on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict." The report said that Menendes, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has a veto on foreign arms sales, and Congress as a whole can also vote to block certain US arms sales.

US "Political News Network" said that the United States has previously urged Saudi Arabia to increase oil production to increase global supply and reduce oil prices in the United States and Europe. But on the 5th of this month, "OPEC+" decided at the 33rd ministerial meeting that it would reduce the average daily oil output by 2 million barrels from November this year. As soon as the news came out, it aroused anger in the US political circles, and senior Democratic officials in the US Congress called for a re-evaluation of the US-Saudi partnership. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders calls on the U.S. to withdraw troops from Saudi Arabia. Rep. Ruben Gallego advised the United States to retract the "Patriot" missile defense system , which was deployed in Saudi Arabia. Senate Majority Leader Schumer claimed that he was considering all legislative tools including the "Anti-Oil Production and Export Monopoly Organisations Act", which would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to sue OPEC member states for "manipulating prices", etc., and then confiscate the relevant countries' assets in the United States to pay for the resulting losses.

The British " Guardian " said on the 10th that Menendez's "harsh words" showed that the United States' policy toward Saudi Arabia may undergo major changes. US media analysts said that considering the key role Menendez plays in foreign policy legislation, his above remarks increase the possibility that the U.S. Congress may take action to retaliate against Saudi Arabia after the November midterm elections. Middle East media said that any possible retaliation from the United States against "OPEC+" represented by Saudi Arabia may force Saudi Arabia to firmly reduce production, which will make the international oil market more turbulent and make the situation in the Middle East more complicated.

Professor Liu Zhongmin from the Middle East Institute of Shanghai International Studies University said in an interview with the reporter of " Global Times " on the 11th that it is unlikely that the United States will freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia , but it may suspend specific arms sales projects in a specific period. Liu Zhongmin said that the statement made by US Senate Democratic member Menendez is not only related to Saudi Arabia's failure to actively cooperate with the United States in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the continuous conflict between the two sides in recent years, but also to the upcoming midterm elections in the United States. But it is certain that Saudi Arabia's long-term reliance on US security guarantees and the United States needs Saudi Arabia's cooperation on regional issues will not be shaken, so the United States and Saudi Arabia will not completely "break up".

According to the UAE National News Agency on the 10th, UAE President Mohammed visited Russia on the 11th. During the visit, he will meet with Russian President Putin to exchange views on the development of bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern. Former UAE Assistant Foreign Minister Kuvihini told Russian Satellite News Agency that Mohammed may make suggestions during his meeting with Putin that the UAE will mediate in the conflict between Russia and the West. Kuwishini said that the U.S. dissatisfaction with the latest production cut decision of "OPEC+" will not become an obstacle to the UAE. "On the contrary, because there is a common interest with Moscow in "OPEC+", the UAE is more suitable for the role of mediator."

Liu Zhongmin believes that if Saudi Arabia supports production cuts and the UAE's decision to mediate the Russian-Ukraine conflict is placed in the context of the US-Russia game behind the Russian-Ukraine conflict, it highlights the impact of the Russian-Ukraine conflict on the pattern of the Middle East, that is, the strategic importance of the Middle East has increased, and Middle Eastern countries are taking advantage of this change to expand their own advantages. In the Russian-Ukraine conflict, Middle Eastern countries did not follow the United States one-sidedly, but tried their best to find a balance between all parties.