The Biden administration is mulling lifting a ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but a final decision would depend on whether the kingdom takes major steps toward ending the years-long civil war in neighboring Yemen, according to a report.
Senior Saudi officials have been in talks with their US counterparts in Riyadh and Washington for months about setting aside the ban that was established by President Biden in February 2021, Reuters reported.
Biden, who leaves Tuesday for a four-day trip to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia, is keen on resettingrelations at a time when the US needs Saudi help to increase the global oil supply to bring down fuel prices that have reached record highs in recent months.
According to the wire service, talks are at an early stage and no decision is expected soon.
“Right now, there’s nothing on the table to lift that ban,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday. “Right now, we’re focused on strengthening and sustaining what is a fragile but real cease-fire [in Yemen], not make any fundamental changes to our weapons policy.”
The White House is considering lifting the ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia that was imposed by the Biden administration in February 2021. Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP, File
President Biden is set to leave for a trip to the Middle East that will include a stop in Saudi Arabia. AP Photo/Evan Vucci, FileA decision to lift the ban would likely prompt bipartisan opposition in Congress. Democrats and Republicans alike have been critical of Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights violations and the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of a hit squad directed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Biden called the Saudi government a “pariah” state after Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and took a tougher line against the kingdom for its campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, a proxy war that has created a humanitarian crisis and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Saudi Arabia would reportedly need to take steps to end the civil war in Yemen in order for the ban to be lifted. Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesSaudi Arabia’s military and security apparatus had relied on US weapons, training and support for decades.
But the report noted that Biden’s approach has softened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, which has forced Western nations to appeal to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, to produce more crude to make up for the loss of supply from Russia.
