Democrats: Support for KSA against US interests
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House Democrats criticize Riyadh in a letter to Biden, saying the US' relationship with the kingdom now runs counter to US interests.
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Biden described Saudi Arabia as a pariah state in his 2020 campaign
The heads of the House foreign affairs and intelligence committees, as well as 20 other Democrats, are pressing Joe Biden to take a "tougher stance" on Saudi Arabia, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a letter reviewed by the daily, the lawmakers had some tough things to say about the Biden administration over its handling of the United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia, citing Riyadh's refusal to cooperate with Washington in terms of the war in Ukraine, the relationship with Russia, and increasing oil production outside the context of OPEC+.
The letter, which the Democrats will send to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, comes amid a historic low in the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia. In the letter, they refer to the kingdom's rejection of a US request to pump more oil to drive down prices driven up by the war in Ukraine, and Riyadh's talks with Beijing about pricing a portion of its oil sales in yuan.
There was also concern that KSA's Foreign Minister held meetings with his Russian counterpart, stressing the positive relationship his country has with Moscow.
“We stand at an inflection point: The United States can continue our status-quo of broad support for an autocratic partner, or we can stand for human rights and rebalance our relationship to reflect our values and interests,” the lawmakers wrote.
Relationship finally "counter to US national interests"
The letter was signed by 30 members of Congress, all Democrats, who ask for a "recalibration of the U.S.-Saudi partnership”, citing a range of concerns about the kingdom's human rights abuses, such as the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the war on Yemen, and a recent mass execution of 81 people in a single day in March.
US intelligence agencies had concluded that Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the killing of Khashoggi in 2018.
Now, after more than 7 years of war on Yemen, thousands of dead, and hundreds of human rights violations, the US relationship with Saudi Arabia has finally started running counter to Washingon's interests once Riyadh has refused to pump more oil; according to the lawmakers, the relationship with KSA "damages the credibility of the United States to uphold our values."
