WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chair of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Chair of the House Oversight Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee; and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, signed a letter to President Joe Biden outlining several priority areas for the U.S. relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to serve U.S. interests and values.

“The Kingdom has long been an important U.S. partner, and we seek to further cooperate with it on regional, counterterrorism, energy, and other priorities,” the Members wrote to President Biden. “However, since 2015 its leadership has repeatedly acted in ways at odds with U.S. policy and values.”

The Members recommend that President Biden prioritize several issues as part of an effort to recalibrate the U.S.-Saudi relationship, including:
  • Securing further Saudi commitments to stabilize global energy markets and definitively abandon its Trump-era oil production deal with Russia.
  • Continuing the suspension of offensive U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen while pressing for the initiation of multi-party peace talks.
  • Ending the Kingdom’s arbitrary detention of human rights defenders, as well as other human rights abuses.
  • Reiterating the U.S. demand for accountability, in line with established international legal standards, for the murder of journalist and American legal resident Jamal Khashoggi.
  • Holding firm to the longstanding U.S. policy of requiring robust safeguards for any civil nuclear cooperation.
  • Underscoring the risks of greater strategic cooperation with China.
The Members concluded: “Pursuing these straightforward measures would achieve your goal of a recalibrated U.S.-Saudi relationship that serves both U.S. interests and values.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.
 
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