“I think the president has been very clear that this is a relationship that we need to continue to reevaluate that we need to be willing to revisit, and certainly in light of the OPEC decision, I think that’s where he is,” John Kirby, a White House spokesman, said on CNN.
OPEC+ stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the group’s allies, including Russia. Saudi Arabia is part of the group.
OPEC+ decided to cut oil production by two million barrels per day during a meeting in Vienna. Biden administration officials reportedly tried convincing the group not to enact cuts.
Kirby was responding to remarks from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez said Monday that the production cut amounted to helping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine “through” OPEC+, adding, “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.”
Other Democrats have also called for drastically changing the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, which was a trusted partner during the Trump administration.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate majority whip, said on Twitter that the ruling Saudi family “has never been a trustworthy ally of our nation.”
“It’s time for our foreign policy to imagine a world without their alliance,” Durbin added.
“You'll find that the president, obviously disappointed by the OPEC decision, is going to be willing to work with Congress” on the Saudi–U.S. relationship “to think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward,” Kirby said.
“I think the timeline’s now, and I think he’s going to be willing to start to have those conversations right away. I don’t think this is anything that’s going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly ... much longer,” Kirby added. “You mentioned the winter coming clearly that that’s a factor here. But more importantly, for the president. It’s really about our own national security or national security interests. And those are the American people and that’s what he’s going to put foremost.”
