Topline
President Joe Biden has “no plans” to meet with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty Summit next month, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday, after the president warned earlier this week the country would face “consequences” for coordinating with Russia and other energy producers to cut oil production.
Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) meet in July.
Key Facts
Sullivan told CNN’s State of the Union the president will not “act precipitously” to alter U.S.-Saudi relations, and will wait to make any major changes to the relationship until after Congress comes back from recess next month.
The president plans to consult lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to “make decisions that are in the best interests of the American people” on U.S.-Saudi ties, Sullivan added.
One option could include reevaluating weapons sales to the kingdom, Sullivan said, as some Democratic lawmakers call for a halt to Saudi arms sales, though he noted there’s “nothing imminently moving now.”
Crucial Quote
“This is a relationship that got built over decades on a bipartisan basis,” Sullivan told CNN, adding the president “is going to act methodically, strategically. And he’s going to take his time and consult with members of both parties.”
Key Background
The OPEC+ alliance—which includes Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major petroleum exporters—agreed to slash oil production by 2 million barrels a day starting next month, a move that could raise global oil prices. The price of oil skyrocketed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, before falling in recent months. The cuts have sparked a backlash from the Biden Administration, though American officials have not yet offered a specific plan to respond to the move, which Saudi officials claim is intended to boost energy market “stability.” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has proposed suspending all arms sales and security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, while a pair of lawmakers also introduced a bill that would block arms sales to the country for a year.
Tangent
Biden faced backlash for a July meeting with Mohammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, ahead of which he gave the crown prince a fist bump. On the 2020 campaign trail, Biden pledged to turn Saudia Arabia into a “pariah” over the government’s role in the murder of Washington Post writer and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi, but the president reportedly tried to reset relations in the wake of surging gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
Further Reading
Biden Pledges ‘Consequences’ For Saudi Arabia Over Oil Production Cuts (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/10/16/biden-has-no-plans-to-meet-saudi-crown-prince-at-g20-summit-after-oil-cuts/