Axios has reported that Biden’s advisers are discussing a possible visit to the Kingdom to help ease the economic pressure from Russian sanctions.
The Biden administration has been criticized over reports that the president’s advisers are considering a visit to Saudi Arabia to try to convince the Kingdom to pump more oil. The plans, which have not been confirmed, were reported by Axios as oil prices soared by 10 percent amid U.S. and European threats to ban Russian oil over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Officials told Axios that discussions of a potential visit to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, are still in the early stages and may not happen at all. However, talk of U.S. officials going to Saudi Arabia was widely criticized by people on both sides of the political spectrum, who cited the Kingdom’s human rights violations during the Yemen war and the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 which a U.S. intelligence report said was approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That claim was denied by the Saudi government. Others also cited President Joe Biden calling Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in 2020 as they condemned plans for a visit to the Kingdom. Brent crude—the global oil benchmark—meanwhile spiked to a 14-year high of $139 a barrel amid supply fears following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
