Washington, April 20 (Representative) The split that existed between the United States and Saudi Arabia in recent years has widened with the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported citing senior officials from both countries. After the start of the Russian operation in Ukraine, the Biden administration wanted Saudi Arabia to produce more oil in order to damage the financial and military sectors of the Russian economy, the report said on Tuesday. Riyadh’s commercial and political interests have been significantly altered after the Saudis became the biggest oil supplier to China and stopped selling as much oil to the United States as they have been doing for decades, the report said.
Today, the Biden administration is not asking the Saudis to pump more oil but to refrain from any action that would hurt the West’s efforts in Ukraine, according to a senior US official. Saudi officials said they believe the main risk for the United States lies in Riyadh’s alignment with China and Russia, according to the report. The strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has never been in such a difficult state as it is now, the report said citing former senior US intelligence official Norman Roule. The Biden administration’s stance on Yemen and the killing of of columnist Jamal Khashoggi are the most problematic issues in bilateral relations between the two countries, the report said.
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is annoyed by the US allegations that he played a role in the killing of Khashoggi and is upset by the Biden administration’s decision to remove the Houthis from the list of terrorist organizations and to reduce support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, according to the report. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with bin Salman during during which they discussed the crises in Ukraine and Yemen, as well as the OPEC+ deal on oil production cuts. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is solely targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger.