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Key Senate chair urges US to freeze cooperation with Saudis
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FILE - Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., at a hearing May 10, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Menendez, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is calling for freezing all U.S. cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales. Sen. Robert Menendez also declared Monday that he would no longer green-light any U.S. dealings with the Saudis, beyond essential security matters. - photo by Tom Williams/Pool via AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez called Monday for freezing all U.S. cooperation with Saudi Arabia, delivering one of the strongest expressions yet of U.S. anger over Saudi oil-production cuts that serve to boost Russia in its war in Ukraine. In a statement, Menendez specifically called for cutting off all arms sales and security cooperation — one of the underpinnings of the more than 70-year U.S. strategic partnership with the oil kingdom — beyond the minimum necessary to defend Americans and American interests. As committee chairman, Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, vowed he "will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine.