WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will act “methodically” in deciding how to respond to Saudi Arabia over oil output cuts, but options include changes to US security assistance, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

Sullivan, speaking on CNN, said no changes to the US-Saudi relationship were imminent as Biden re-evaluates it.

“And so the president isn’t going to act precipitously. He is going to act methodically, strategically and he’s going to take his time to consult members of both parties, and also to have an opportunity for Congress to return so that he can sit with them in person and work through the options,” Sullivan said.

A day after OPEC+ oil producers last week announced output cuts over US objections, Biden vowed to impose “consequences” on Saudi Arabia for siding with Russia in supporting the cuts. The OPEC+ move undermines Western countries’ plans to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil exports in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who chairs the Senate’s foreign relations committee, called for a halt to most US arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the Opec+ move.

Biden’s options “include changes to our approach to security assistance to Saudi Arabia, but I’m not going to get ahead of the president. What I will say is there’s nothing imminent,” Sullivan said, adding that there was time for Biden to consult Congress.

Sullivan said Biden had no plans to meet Saudi Arabia’s de-facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at a G20 leaders summit next month in Indonesia.

Asked whether Biden would view Russia’s use of a small tactical nuclear weapon or detonating one in the Black Sea as less serious than a larger bomb, Sullivan said it was “dangerous” to draw such distinctions, and the president would not do so.

“The use of a nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine is the use of a nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine. We’re not going to slice the salami,” Sullivan added.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

High cost of living
Updated 04 Oct, 2024

High cost of living

There will be no let-up in the pain of middle-class people when it comes to grocery expenses, school fees, and hospital bills.
Regional response
04 Oct, 2024

Regional response

IT is welcome that Afghanistan’s neighbours are speaking with one voice when it comes to the critical issue of...
Cultural conservation
04 Oct, 2024

Cultural conservation

THE Sindh government’s recent move to declare the Sayad Hashmi Reference Library as a protected heritage site is...
Judicial infighting
03 Oct, 2024

Judicial infighting

As other state institutions grow more assertive, continued failure to present a united front will increasingly endanger SC's authority.
Iranian salvo
Updated 03 Oct, 2024

Iranian salvo

With the US and UK egging on Israel, instead of reining in their rabid ally, it is difficult to foresee a negotiated denouement of this conflict.
Chance to play well
03 Oct, 2024

Chance to play well

THE announcement came without warning very late on Tuesday night. Merely six months since his reappointment and 11...