WASHINGTON: According to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden will act “methodically” in determining how to respond to Saudi Arabia’s oil output cuts, although alternatives include modifying US security assistance.
As Biden reviews the US-Saudi partnership, Sullivan, appearing on CNN, indicated no changes are anticipated.
The president will therefore refrain from acting hastily. He will take his time to confer with members of both parties and will proceed slowly and tactically. He will also wait for Congress to reconvene so that he can sit down with them in person and discuss the choices, according to Sullivan.
Last week, OPEC+ oil producers agreed on output reductions despite US opposition, and a day later, Biden threatened to inflict “consequences” on Saudi Arabia for siding with Russia in favour of the reductions. The action by OPEC+ undercuts Western nations’ intentions to control the price of Russian oil shipments in retaliation for Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.
Following the Opec+ move, Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for a halt to most US arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
“Changes to our approach to security assistance to Saudi Arabia,” Biden says, “but I’m not going to get ahead of the president.” “What I will say is that nothing is imminent,” Sullivan said, adding that Biden had time to consult with Congress.
At the G20 summit taking place in Indonesia next month, Sullivan claimed that Biden had no intentions of meeting the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
When asked if Biden would think it was less serious for Russia to use a small tactical nuclear weapon or detonate one in the Black Sea than a bigger bomb, Sullivan responded it was “dangerous” to make such distinctions and the president would not.
“Using a nuclear weapon on the Ukrainian battlefield is using a nuclear weapon on the Ukrainian battlefield. We won’t cut the salami,” Sullivan continued.
