US President Joe Biden pledged on Tuesday that “there will be consequences” for US relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced last week that it would cut its oil production target over the United States’ objections.
His announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales, Reuters reported.
According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a policy review will be conducted. Still, she provided no timeline for action or information on who would lead the re-evaluation.
The United States will be watching the situation closely “over the coming weeks and months,” she said as quoted by Reuters.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the OPEC+ decision was purely economic and was taken unanimously by its member states.
“OPEC+ members acted responsibly and took the appropriate decision,” Prince Faisal told the Al Arabiya television channel.
According to Reuters report, Bin Salman and Biden had clashed during Biden’s visit to Jeddah in July over the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
