Biden warms up to Riyadh, considers canceling arms sales restrictions
2 Min Read
The Biden administration is discussing the possibility of lifting its ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia.
-
Saudi forces in military exercises at the Saudi-led coalition military base in Yemen's southern embattled city of Aden.
The Biden administration is discussing the possibility of lifting its ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia - however, any final decision will be determinant of whether Saudi Arabia makes progress in ending the war on Yemen, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read more: US trained, provided weapons to Saudi coalition in Yemen war: WashPost
Senior Saudi officials have been pressuring their US counterparts to abolish the policy that only permits the sales of defensive arms, reiterated in several meetings between Riyadh and Washington over the course of several months.
According to two sources, the plans to scrap the policy are at an early stage and are informal, while a US official told Reuters that there were no discussions on offensive weapons with the Saudis "at this time."
Biden, who will be traveling to Saudi Arabia this week, seeks to amend strained relations, particularly for a number of items on his agenda: increased oil production, and normalization agreements with "Israel."
Read more: Macron tells Biden that UAE, KSA can barely raise oil output
To remove restrictions on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia will ignite opposite from both Democrats and Republicans who've been vocal critics of Riyadh.
While Biden, in his presidential campaign, called Saudi Arabia a "pariah," his administration's approach to Riyadh has softened up since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which has coerced the United States and other Western countries to appeal to Saudi Arabia to pump more oil.
Riyadh, upon agreeing to a two-month-long extension of the armistice in Yemen, gained praise from Washington, who is pushing for a permanent ceasefire.
However, if Biden were to scrap the restrictions, this will be an ignitor of a renewed debacle on Capitol Hill. His visit to Saudi Arabia, to many, is seen as a gift of legitimacy to Saudi de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman.
