White House says Biden believes Saudi Arabia has sided with Russia after OPEC+ cut - Fox News

The White House said Tuesday that President Biden believes Saudi Arabia has efficaciously sided with Russia’s warfare aims successful Ukraine pursuing the Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance’s announcement past week that it would chopped lipid production.

"We judge by the determination that OPEC+ made past week, (Saudi Arabia is) surely aligning themselves with Russia," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Tuesday briefing. "And close now, this is not the clip to beryllium aligning with Russia, particularly with this brutal, unprecedented warfare that they started successful Ukraine." 

President Joe Biden speaks astatine the Summit connected Fire Prevention and Control successful the South Court Auditorium connected the White House analyzable successful Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Jean-Pierre said President Biden was reassessing its narration with Saudi Arabia, a captious but analyzable state successful the Middle East, but offered nary timeline for its review.

Biden came into bureau vowing to recalibrate the U.S. narration due to the fact that of Saudi Arabia's quality rights grounds but past paid a sojourn to the kingdom earlier this year. 

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OPEC+, which includes Russia arsenic good arsenic Saudi Arabia, announced past week it would chopped accumulation by 2 cardinal barrels a day, which volition assistance prop up lipid prices that are allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to support paying for his eight-month penetration of Ukraine. 

The accumulation chopped besides hurts U.S.-led efforts to marque the warfare financially unsustainable for Russia, threatens a planetary system already destabilized by the Ukraine conflict and risks saddling Biden and Democrats with recently rising gasoline prices conscionable up of the U.S. midterm elections.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps U.S. President Joe Biden upon his accomplishment astatine Al Salman Palace, successful Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Biden and European leaders person urged much lipid accumulation to easiness gasoline prices and punish Moscow for its aggression successful Ukraine. Putin has been accused of using vigor as a limb against countries opposing Russia's invasion.

John Kirby, the strategical communications coordinator for the National Security Council astatine the White House, echoed Jean-Pierre comments Tuesday, saying that Biden believes "it's clip to instrumentality different look astatine this narration and marque definite that it's serving our nationalist information interests."

"We're going to instrumentality a look astatine this narration earnestly arsenic good arsenic taking earnestly the concerns of members of Congress," Kirby said astatine the White House. 

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U.S. limb income to Riyadh service arsenic an important counterweight successful the portion to Iran, which is rapidly moving toward becoming a atomic power.

"There's 70,000 Americans surviving successful Saudi Arabia close now, not to notation each the different troops we person passim the region," Kirby said. "So, it's not lone successful our involvement that rocket defence successful the portion go much integrated and cooperative. It's successful the involvement of our allies and partners successful that portion of the satellite arsenic well."

Still, the unit is mounting for Biden. As a campaigner for the White House, helium vowed that Saudi rulers would "pay the price" nether his ticker for the 2018 sidesplitting of U.S.-based writer Jamal Khashoggi, a professional of the kingdom's leadership. Biden said that he'd look to marque the oil-rich state a "pariah."

But successful July, amid rising prices astatine the pump astir the globe, Biden decided to wage a sojourn to Saudi Arabia. During the visit, helium met with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who helium erstwhile shunned arsenic a slayer for the decease of Khashoggi. 

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The U.S. quality assemblage determined that the crown prince, often referred to by his initials MBS, apt approved the sidesplitting of Khashoggi wrong the Saudi consulate successful Istanbul. MBS denies helium was involved.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.