Riyadh is angered by US Senate resolution on Yemen intervention
Saudi Arabia yesterday criticised the US Senate for its resolutions about the war in Yemen and the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning that the interference could hurt its relations with Washington.
“The kingdom condemns the latest position of the US Senate that was based on unsubstantiated allegations and rejects the blatant interference in its internal affairs,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted on Thursday to end US military support for the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s war against the Houthi rebels and to accuse Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of involvement in Khashoggi’s death.
The vote dealt a new warning to President Donald Trump, who has staunchly backed the Saudi government.
On Yemen, which more broadly attacks the president’s prerogative to launch military action, 49 Democrats and their allies voted in favour, along with seven Republicans, while another three Republicans abstained.
Senators also approved a resolution condemning the killing of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate in October.
The Saudi ministry warned that the kingdom would not tolerate any disrespect of its rulers.
“This position by the US Senate sends the wrong messages to all those who want to cause a rift in the Saudi-US relationship,” the ministry said.
“The kingdom hopes that it is not drawn into domestic political debates in the US to avoid any significant negative impact on this important strategic relationship.”
On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again defended Washington’s ties with Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom was a bulwark against their common enemy Iran.
The Senate resolution acknowledged that US-Saudi ties were important but called on Riyadh to “moderate its increasingly erratic foreign policy”.
The resolutions cannot be debated in the House of Representatives before next month and will probably be vetoed by Mr Trump.
Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on October 2 in what Riyadh called a “rogue” operation.
Afterwards, almost 20 Saudi nationals were sanctioned by countries including the US, France and Canada.
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday called for a “credible” investigation into the killing.
Anger at the human cost of the war in Yemen has also prompted a harder line in Congress about the US military’s role in backing strikes against Houthi rebels.