US lawmakers are calling for tougher anti-Riyadh policies

According to Fars News Agency’s International Service, the heads of the US House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, along with 20 other Democratic lawmakers, intend to pressure US President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance against Saudi Arabia.

In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, US lawmakers cited Saudi Arabia’s refusal to cooperate with the United States on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Riyadh’s human rights abuses.

In the letter, Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the Biden administration for managing Washington’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

During the campaign, Biden described Saudi Arabia as a “rejected state” and promised to prosecute Riyadh for human rights abuses. However, Biden has not yet taken that step.

The letter is set to be sent to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at a time when relations between Washington and Riyadh have been strained by Saudi Arabia’s refusal to cooperate with Ukraine in the Ukraine war.

U.S. lawmakers have noted that Saudi Arabia has rejected a US request to produce more oil and reduce fuel prices in the United States as a result of the Ukraine war. According to the delegates, Riyadh has also entered into talks with China to conduct some oil transactions in the yuan.

Another concern of US Democratic lawmakers is that the Saudi foreign minister met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and stressed Riyadh’s positive relationship with Moscow.

The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal report. The US State Department did not respond to the newspaper’s request.

The letter was signed by 30 members of the US Congress, all of whom are Democrats, according to the Wall Street Journal.

End of message /