As Joe Biden weighs his response to Saudi Arabia’s decision to slash oil production, the US president faces mounting calls from Democrats to do the one thing they believe would hurt Riyadh most: freeze arms sales and curb security co-operation with the kingdom.
But if Biden, who on Tuesday warned that Saudi Arabia would face consequences, without elaborating, decides to go down that avenue, he will have limited room for manoeuvre, say diplomats and analysts.
That is partly because his administration imposed a freeze on “offensive” arms sales to the kingdom when it took office last year as a result of Biden’s concerns about Riyadh’s conduct of its war in Yemen. Defensive arms sales, however, continue.
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