Biden re-evaluating U.S. relationship with Saudis after OPEC decision - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is launching a reappraisal of the U.S. narration with Saudi Arabia aft OPEC+ announced past week that it would chopped lipid accumulation implicit U.S. objections, officials said connected Tuesday.

The announcement came a time aft almighty Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States indispensable instantly frost each aspects of U.S. practice with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre said a reappraisal volition beryllium forthcoming but gave nary timeline for enactment oregon accusation connected who would pb the re-evaluation. The United States volition beryllium watching the concern intimately "over the coming weeks and months," she said.

OPEC+ announced plans for an lipid accumulation chopped past week aft weeks of lobbying against 1 by U.S. officials. The United States accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Russia, which objects to a Western headdress connected the terms of Russian lipid spurred by the Ukraine invasion.

U.S. officials had been quietly trying to transportation its biggest Arab spouse to nix the thought of a accumulation cut, but Saudi Arabia's de origin ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was not swayed.

Bin Salman and Biden had clashed during Biden's sojourn to Jeddah successful July implicit the decease successful 2018 of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, according to a root acquainted with the situation.

U.S. quality says the crown prince approved an cognition to seizure oregon termination Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents wrong the kingdom's consulate successful Istanbul.

The prince, lad of King Salman, 86, has denied ordering the sidesplitting but acknowledged it took spot "under my watch." Biden said successful July helium told the prince helium thought helium was responsible.

John Kirby, the White House nationalist information spokesperson, said Biden would enactment with Congress "to deliberation done what that narration ought to look similar going forward."

"And I deliberation he's going to beryllium consenting to commencement to person those conversations close away. I don't deliberation this is thing that's going to person to hold oregon should wait, rather frankly, for overmuch longer," Kirby added.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price besides said connected Tuesday the Biden medication would not place Iran, a U.S. adversary and a bitter determination rival of Saudi Arabia, successful the review. work much

Much of U.S. arms income to Saudi Arabia person been made with Iran's menace successful the portion successful mind.

"There are information challenges, immoderate of which emanate from Iran. Certainly, we won't instrumentality our oculus disconnected the menace that Iran poses not lone to the region, but successful immoderate ways beyond," Price said.

Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Mark Porter, Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington

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