U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is calling on the Biden administration to rethink its relationship with Saudi Arabia following the Saudi-directed decision by OPEC+ to reduce oil production.
The Connecticut Democratic, who is chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism and a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced his concerns over the U.S.-Saudi alliance during an interview on CNN”™s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper.”
“We sell massive amounts of arms to the Saudis ”“ I think we need to rethink those sales,” he said. “I think we need to lift the exemption that we have given this OPEC+ cartel from U.S. price fixing liability. I think we need to look at our troop presence in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.”
Murphy added that the U.S. has been too generous in forgiving the Saudi government for actions that ran counter to American values.
“I mean, listen, for years, we have looked the other way as Saudi Arabia has chopped up journalists, has engaged in massive political repression,” he stated. “For one reason ”“ we wanted to know that when the chips were down, when there was a global crisis, that the Saudis would choose us instead of Russia. Well, they didn’t. They chose Russia. They chose to back up the Russians, drive up oil prices, which could have the potential to fracture our Ukraine coalition, and there’s got to be consequences for that. So, I just think it’s time to admit that the Saudis are not looking out for us.”
