(Washington) He first wanted to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, then attempted a rapprochement in July… Joe Biden, scalded by Riyadh’s decisions on oil, clearly raised his voice against the kingdom on Tuesday.
Updated yesterday at 10:12 p.m.
“There will be consequences for what they have done with Russia,” threatened the American president on Tuesday during an interview with CNN, without specifying what kind they would be.
He was referring to the recent decision by OPEC+, an oil cartel led by Riyadh, to slash its production quotas, which could cause prices to soar – and therefore fill the coffers of Russia, which relies on its sales of hydrocarbons to finance the war in Ukraine.
“Given recent events and OPEC+ decisions, the President believes we should re-evaluate the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia,” John Kirby, spokesman for the House National Security Council, previously said. White, to the press.
Joe Biden “is ready to work with Congress to reflect on what this relationship should be”, also assured this adviser.
snub
OPEC+ – the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia and their ten partners led by Russia – inflicted a diplomatic snub on Joe Biden, who instead demanded an abundant supply .
The American president had traveled to Saudi Arabia in July to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after having sworn during his campaign to make the kingdom a “pariah” following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faiçal ben Farhane explained on Tuesday on the Al-Arabiya channel that the drop in production represented a “purely economic approach taken unanimously by the member countries” of the organization, aimed at “maintaining a market of sustainable oil”.
“OPEC+ members acted responsibly and made the appropriate decision,” he said.
The decision of the oil cartel sparked a wave of indignation among members of the American Congress and in particular among the parliamentarians of the Democratic party, that of Joe Biden.
The powerful head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Bob Menendez threatened on Monday to block any future arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and House Representative Ro Khanna took him at his word when they introduced draft legislation on Tuesday to end such exports.
Arms sales
The partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia had been sealed after the end of the Second World War, providing the kingdom with military protection against access to oil for the Americans.
This relationship, enamelled with crises, had been relaunched by former Republican President Donald Trump, with pharaonic arms sales as a result.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, between 2016 and 2020, Saudi Arabia accounted for 24% of total US arms exports.
The relationship is “strategic” and has “advanced security and stability in the Middle East,” the Saudi Embassy in Washington said in a statement on Tuesday. Bilateral military cooperation “serves the interests of both countries”, she added.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition in Yemen since 2015 to fight Houthi rebels, backed by its regional enemy, Iran. She was targeted by Houthi missile fire.
Joe Biden, aware of the fury of human rights activists, had justified his trip to Saudi Arabia by the concern for energy security, but also for regional security.
But the image of a familiar fist-to-fist salute exchanged with Mohammed bin Salman has not finished turning against Joe Biden. Since the OPEC+ decision, the American press has been full of murderous editorials on the failure of its “fist bump diplomacy”.