Biden Pledges ‘Consequences’ For Saudi Arabia Over Oil Production Cuts

Topline

President Joe Biden told CNN on Tuesday Saudi Arabia will face “consequences” for joining with Russia and other major energy producers to slash oil production, a move that has driven fears of an oil price spike and led some members of Congress to suggest cutting U.S. arms sales to the Saudi government.

Key Facts

The president said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper he’ll discuss how to respond to the production cuts announced last week by OPEC+—a Saudi-led group of oil-exporting countries—when Congress returns from recess.

Biden’s exact plans remain unclear: He did not say whether he’ll back a proposal by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to freeze all arms sales and security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, but he said “there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done.”

Biden also defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia in July and meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a meeting that was preceded by a fist bump between the U.S. president and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, noting he was attending a broader summit with the leaders of several other Middle Eastern countries.

Tangent

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a bill earlier Tuesday that would ban all arms sales to Saudi Arabia for a year. Members of both parties have pushed to curtail Saudi weapons sales in the past due to Saudi Arabia’s role in the Yemeni civil war, largely to no avail, but the latest bill’s fate in Congress is not yet clear.

Key Background

The OPEC+ alliance, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed last week to curtail oil production by 2 million barrels per day starting in November. The decision is widely expected to push up global oil prices, which soared after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year before declining in recent months. Saudi officials have insisted the production cuts are designed to bring “stability” to energy markets, but the Biden Administration has excoriated OPEC+ for the move, which could drive up already-high gas prices—a key contributor to inflation—and boost the Russian government’s bottom line as it continues to fight in Ukraine.

Surprising Fact

Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has been complicated. While on the campaign trail, he castigated Saudi officials for their role in the murder of Washington Post writer and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi, and promised to treat the country as a “pariah.” But as gas prices surged earlier this year, Biden reportedly grew eager to reset the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The president and the crown prince discussed delivering “adequate oil supplies” during their July meeting, but Saudi Arabia didn’t make a concrete promise to boost exports. Biden also signed off on a multi-billion-dollar missile sale to Saudi Arabia in August, in line with a longstanding practice of supplying arms to the Saudi military, which the U.S. views as a key regional security partner and a counterbalance against Iranian influence.