The US is weighing resuming the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia

Joe Biden’s administration is discussing whether to lift a ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but a final decision will depend on whether Riyadh makes progress on ending the war in Yemen, according to four people. sources briefed on the matter cited by the Reuters news agency.

Senior Saudi officials have been pressing their US counterparts to ban any sales of an offensive nature in recent months, the sources said, ahead of President Biden’s visit to the Sunni kingdom later this week.

Consultations in Washington are informal and at a very early stage, with no decision expected immediately, the two sources said. A US official assured Reuters that no such discussion was taking place “at this time”.

However, as Mr Biden makes a diplomatically sensitive trip this week, his administration has hinted that there may be a reboot of the relationship with Saudi Arabia, as it wants increased oil production from Gulf states and closer cooperation among Arab states. with Israel to deal with Iran.

However, any decision to lift restrictions on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia is expected to meet resistance in Congress, from both Democrats and Republicans.

Since taking office early last year, Mr. Biden has taken a harder line, both because of the Saudi military intervention against the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has caused a heavy civilian toll, and because of flagrant violations human rights, especially the 2018 assassination of Washington Post columnist and late regime critic Jamal Khashoggi. The Democrat, who campaigned on a campaign promise to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah,” announced in February 2021 that he was suspending sales of offensive weapons and Washington’s support for Saudi operations in Yemen.

Riyadh – the largest customer of the American arms industry – does not hide its annoyance at these restrictions.

But Mr. Biden’s administration’s stance softened dramatically after Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine: Washington and others called on Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, to increase production to offset the loss of Russian offer.

Saudi Arabia also secured praise from the White House when it agreed in early June to extend a two-month ceasefire in Yemen, the country where the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Washington, however, would like to see the truce consolidated.

SOURCE: AMPE