After Saudi Arabia led the OPEC+ group to announce a significant cut in oil production last week, U.S. President Joe Biden is re-examining the country’s relationship with the organization’s de facto leader, according to John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the U.S. National Security Council.

Reuters cited Kirby as saying that President Biden was willing to work with Congress on the future of American relations with Saudi Arabia in an interview with CNN. A few hours prior, U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticised Saudi Arabia for announcing a reduction in oil production and demanded an “immediate” halt to all forms of U.S. cooperation with the Kingdom, including arms sales. Kirby made his remarks shortly after Menendez.

In response to the devastating Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities on Monday, Senator Menendez referred to Saudi Arabia by saying, “There simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict – either you support the rest of the free world in trying to stop a war criminal from violently wiping off an entire country off of the map, or you support him.”

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia chose the latter in a terrible decision driven by economic self-interest,” the Senator added.

As of last week, OPEC+ has reduced its collective aim by the most since 2020. Although Russia and OPEC+ insisted that the production cut was based on technical market analyses and was intended to promote “stability,” many analysts and the White House perceived the action as political.

In its interactions with OPEC+ countries and its de facto head, Saudi Arabia, the United States is exploring “response options,” according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke last week after the OPEC+ group announced the output cut.

Last week, Secretary Blinked said, “As to the relationship going forward, we’re reviewing a number of response options. We’re consulting closely with Congress.”