US Congress introduces bill to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia
US lawmakers intend to submit a bill to both houses of the US Congress, on Tuesday that would suspend the supply of US weapons to Saudi Arabia amid Riyadh’s decision to reduce oil production in the framework of OPEC+.
On Sunday, the initiator, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Congressman Ro Hanna (D-CA), wrote a joint article in Politico.
US lawmakers say: “This week, Saudi Arabia conspired with Russia and decided at the OPEC+ meeting to reduce oil production by two million barrels per day, thus raising the price of gas in Russia’s favor”.
“The Saudi decision was a clear blow to the United States, but the United States also has a way to respond: It could quickly halt the massive transfer of US military technology into the hands of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which desperately needs it,” the article’s authors stated.
“Therefore, we will propose a bill on Tuesday in the Senate and House of Representatives that provides for the immediate suspension of all arms supplies to Saudi Arabia,” the representatives said.
They noted that similar bills related to US military cooperation with Saudi Arabia had previously been submitted to Congress on other occasions, but never passed.
However, now, the authors of the initiative are convinced, that Saudi Arabia’s decision has caused such anger among Democrats and Republicans alike that the bill, in their opinion, has every chance of success.
On Thursday, Democrat members of Congress introduced another bill that would require the US administration to withdraw US forces and weapons systems from the territories of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia over their decision to cut oil production.
The bill also provides for the transfer of US military equipment and defense systems to other regions in the Middle East in order to “ensure the safety of US military personnel in other countries”.
