A powerful US senator on Monday called for Washington to freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia over its decision to “underwrite” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by slashing oil production.
Riyadh, Moscow and other top oil producers last week agreed to a deep cut in production to boost crude prices, in a move denounced by the US as a concession to Moscow that would hurt the global economy.
“There simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict — either you support the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from violently wiping off an entire country off of the map, or you support him,” US Senator Robert Menendez, who chairs the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
Photo: AP
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia chose the latter in a terrible decision driven by economic self-interest,” he said.
The 13-nation, Saudi-led OPEC cartel and its 10 allies headed by Russia agreed to reduce output by 2 million barrels a day from next month — raising fears that oil prices could soar.
Saudi Arabia said OPEC’s priority was “to maintain a sustainable oil market,” but its move drew a swift rebuke from the Washington, which is leading efforts to isolate major energy producer Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
“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 US personnel and interests,” Menendez said.
“As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough,” he said.
An outspoken critic of Riyadh, Menendez has been at the forefront of the campaign to sanction Saudi royalty over the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence concluded was ordered by de facto leader Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He is the latest in a string of lawmakers calling for a rethink on the US-Saudi relationship, but is able to wield considerably more influence than most in his drive to impose increased scrutiny on arms sales.
When former US president Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration to bypass the US Congress in approving a weapons deal with Riyadh in 2019, Menendez jammed up the process by refusing to acknowledge the White House’s notification of the sale until he had received answers about his concerns about use of US-made weaponry in Yemen.
“I am horrified by Russia’s depraved and desperate escalation against civilian infrastructure across Ukraine — including in Kyiv,” he said. “I pledge to use all means at my disposal to accelerate support for the people of Ukraine and to starve Russia’s war machine.”
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS