Key senator announces hold on Saudi arms sales after oil cuts – By Bryant Harris (Defense News) / Oct 10, 2022
WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced on Monday that he will block arms sales to Saudi Arabia following OPEC’s announcement last week that the cartel will curtail oil production, a move seen as signaling alignment with Russia.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., argued that Saudi Arabia’s push for the OPEC cuts amounted to support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “a terrible decision driven by economic self-interest.”
He accused Riyadh of helping “underwrite [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s] war through the OPEC+ cartel” and called for an immediate freeze to “all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend U.S. personnel and interests.”
To that end, Menendez vowed that he “will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine.”
