After destroying the strong U.S./Saudi relationship built by Donald Trump, Joe Biden now wants to sell the Saudis offensive weapons after promising to make the country a “pariah.” Felicia Schwartz and Andrew England report in the Financial Times:
The US is expected to lift its ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, potentially in the coming weeks, according to US officials.
US President Joe Biden suspended the sale of such armaments to the kingdom three years ago, shortly after he entered the White House, criticising the conduct of the kingdom’s war in Yemen amid concerns about American-made weapons being used in air strikes that killed civilians.
But the decision has been under review after the UN brokered a truce in 2022 that has largely held as Riyadh has sought to extract itself from Yemen’s civil conflict, which it entered nine years ago.
Lifting the ban would be the latest sign of improving ties between the Biden administration and Riyadh.
Washington has already signalled to Saudi Arabia — traditionally one of the biggest buyers of US weaponry — that it was prepared to lift the ban, according to one person familiar with the matter.
The White House declined to comment.
Biden came to office promising to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” because of his concerns about human rights in the kingdom, notably after the brutal 2018 murder of veteran journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at its consulate in Istanbul.
On the campaign trail in 2019, Biden also accused the Saudis of “murdering children” in an apparent reference to the war in Yemen, in which thousands were killed.
But relations have significantly improved since then, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reinforced the belief in Washington that it needed Saudi Arabia’s co-operation on key issues, including energy, and to support US Middle East policies.
Senior US officials said this week that Washington and Riyadh were close to finalising a series of bilateral deals, including a defence pact and US co-operation on the kingdom’s nascent civilian nuclear programme.
The agreements would be part of a broader US-brokered compact that would lead to Saudi Arabia normalising ties with Israel, but it is dependent on the Jewish state agreeing to take steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Lifting the ban on offensive weapons sales was not directly tied to these talks, US officials said.
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