WASHINGTON (Middle East Eye) – Several top U.S. lawmakers have signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to rework Washington’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The letter, spearheaded by Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was signed by five other members of the House, including chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks, and Adam Smith, chair of the Armed Services Committee.
“Until Saudi Arabia shows signs of charting a different course, and in light of deliberations regarding a potential visit to the Kingdom during which you may have an opportunity to meet with King Salman and other regional heads of state, we encourage you to redouble your efforts to recalibrate the U.S.-Saudi relationship,” said the letter, first reported by The New York Times.
The lawmakers said that the recalibration should ensure that ties with Riyadh “serve America’s national interests”.
The letter comes as Biden is reportedly planning to travel to Saudi Arabia this summer, and does not urge Biden to call off his trip, but rather raises six points for the administration to focus on with the Saudis: oil markets; the Yemen war; the detention of human rights activists; the investigation of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing; and civil nuclear and military cooperation with China.
U.S.-Saudi ties have come under stress over the past year, as Washington and Riyadh have clashed over the kingdom’s response to the war in Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia rejected pleas from the Biden administration to pump more oil at a time of rising prices.
However, Saudi Arabia recently agreed to hike oil production over the next two months, a sign of thawing ties with Washington.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia, told MEE that the only way Biden could stay consistent with his commitment to human rights is by placing Saudi Arabia on the top of Washington’s list of rights abusers.
“Saudi Arabia is one of the worst offenders of human rights violations in the world. They fuel modern-day slavery, repress women’s rights, torture and kill dissidents, suppress democratic organizing and are responsible for the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen,” Omar told MEE.
“Putting human rights at the center of our foreign policy means being consistent about calling out human rights offenders. And Saudi Arabia should be at the top of that list.”