康涅狄格州参议员克里斯墨菲(Chris Murphy)周日呼吁，在沙特和欧佩克+联盟的其他成员之后，美国应该改变与沙特的关系决定大幅削减产量在今年晚些时候的一次行动中这可能会推高下滑的成本原油。
讲在CNN的“国情咨文”节目中。墨菲加入了越来越多的民主党人的行列，他们认为，鉴于美国宣布将石油产量每天减少200万桶以及利雅得的人权记录，美国应该“重新思考”与海湾王国的关系。
欧佩克+即将出台的限制措施将于11月开始实施。此前，美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)今年夏天访问了沙特，部分原因是为了在中期选举前降低国内天然气价格。
但欧佩克+表示，上周宣布的减产是必要的，以帮助支撑国际油价。全球市场受到俄罗斯入侵乌克兰、新冠肺炎疫情和其他力量的影响。
“我们在这里是作为一股温和的力量，带来稳定，”一名沙特部长说周三说。部长坚持说，削减与“好战”无关。
拜登周四告诉美国广播公司新闻，他对此举感到不满。虽然他坚称此行主要不是为了石油。...这是令人失望的，它说有问题。"
墨菲周日在美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)上说，“很明显，我们没有得到我们需要的那么多。”
“我们想知道，当关键时刻到来时，当出现全球危机时，沙特会选择我们，而不是俄罗斯。嗯-他们没有。他们选择了俄罗斯。他们选择支持俄罗斯，推高油价，这可能会破坏我们的乌克兰联盟。这肯定会有后果，”墨菲说。
“我们向沙特出售大量武器。我认为我们需要重新考虑这些销售，”他说。“我认为，我们需要取消给予欧佩克+卡特尔的美国价格垄断责任豁免。我认为我们需要审视我们在中东和沙特阿拉伯的驻军。“多年来，当沙特阿拉伯砍伤记者、进行大规模政治镇压时，我们一直睁一只眼闭一只眼。”
Sen. Chris Murphy speaks to reporters outside of the Senate Chambers of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 21, 2022.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images，文件
除了反思美国与沙特阿拉伯的关系，墨菲还关注了该国事实上的统治者王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman)，拜登在7月份的谈判中与他会面，鉴于美国情报部门对本·萨勒曼进行了评估，谈判受到了审查批准杀害美国记者贾马尔·哈肖吉在伊斯坦布尔的沙特领事馆。
王子一直声称他没有参与，尽管拜登说他提出了这个问题在他们今年夏天的会议上。
Khashoggi的未婚妻Hatice Cengiz尖锐地批评了拜登前往沙特阿拉伯的“令人心碎”的决定。拜登在2019年竞选总统时表示，他会让这个国家成为“贱民”。
墨菲周日发表评论之前，其他民主党人上周也发出了类似的呼吁，要求在石油减产后进行某种惩罚。三名众议院民主党人提出了一项从沙特阿拉伯撤出美国军队的法案。
“许多人认为，在俄罗斯入侵后，我们必须‘修复’与海湾合作伙伴的关系，以赢得他们在稳定全球能源市场方面的合作，拜登总统尽了一切努力，甚至在利雅得亲自会见了沙特王储，尽管他在贾迈勒·哈肖吉(Jamal Khashoggi)谋杀案中扮演了角色，”伊利诺伊州众议员肖恩·卡斯特恩(Sean Casten)、新泽西州众议员汤姆·马林诺夫斯基(to win)和宾夕法尼亚州众议员苏珊·怀尔德(Susan Wild)上周在一份联合声明中说。
“现在是美国在与海湾附庸国的关系中恢复超级大国角色的时候了。他们已经做出了选择，应该承担后果。其他地方也需要我们的军队和军事装备，”三人组说。
白宫虽然不同意减产，但对于计划如何回应非正式地由沙特领导的欧佩克+，仍三缄其口。
拜登的高级经济顾问布莱恩·迪斯(Brian Deese)周四对记者表示，“我们将围绕这一后端的一系列问题进行评估，并与国会密切磋商。”。"除此之外，我不想赶在政府可能宣布的消息之前."
Murphy and other Democrats call for 'consequences' for Saudi Arabia over oil production cut
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy on Sunday called for a change in Washington's ties to Saudi Arabia after the country and other members of the OPEC+ alliancedecided to significantly cut productionlater this year in a movethat will likely drive up the slumping costof crude oil.
Speakingon CNN's "State of the Union,"Murphy added to the growing number of Democrats arguing that the U.S. should, as he put it, "rethink" the relationship with the Gulf kingdom in light of the announced 2-million-barrel-per-day cut in oil production as well as Riyadh's human rights record.
The forthcoming restrictions by OPEC+, which will begin in November, come after President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia this summer seeking, in part, to lower domestic gas prices before the midterms.
But OPEC+ said the cuts announced last week were necessary to help support the international price for oil. The global market has been roiled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other forces.
"We are here to stay as a moderating force, to bring about stability," a Saudi ministersaid Wednesday. The cuts, the minister insisted, were not about "belligerence."
Biden told ABC News on Thursday he was unhappy with the move. And while he maintained that the trip was not essentially for oil. ... It is a disappointment and it says that there are problems."
On CNN on Sunday, Murphy said that "it’s clear that we didn’t get as much as we needed to."
"We wanted to know that when the chips were down, when there was a global crisis, that the Saudis would choose us instead of Russia. Well -- they didn't. They chose Russia. They chose to back up the Russians, drive up oil prices, which could have the potential to fracture our Ukraine coalition. And there's got to be consequences for that," Murphy said.
"We sell massive amounts of arms to the Saudis. I think we need to rethink those sales," he said. "I think we need to lift the exemption that we have given this OPEC+ cartel from U.S. price-fixing liability. I think we need to look at our troop presence in the middle East and Saudi Arabia," he said. "For years we have looked the other way as Saudi Arabia has chopped up journalists, has engaged in massive political repression."
Beyond rethinking the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, Murphy also focused on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler, whom Biden met with in July in negotiations that drew scrutiny given that U.S. intelligence has assessed bin Salmanapproved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggiin the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The prince has continued to claim he was not involved,though Biden said he raised the issueat their meeting this summer.
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée, sharply criticized Biden's "heartbreaking" decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. While running for president in 2019, Biden said he would make the country a "pariah."
Murphy's comments on Sunday follow similar calls from other Democrats last week for some kind of punishment after the oil production cut. A trio of House Democrats introduced a bill to remove the U.S. military presence from Saudi Arabia.
"Many argued that we had to 'repair' our relationship with our Gulf partners to win their cooperation in stabilizing global energy markets following Russia’s invasion, and President Biden made every effort to do so, going so far as to meet the Saudi Crown Prince personally in Riyadh, despite his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey and Pennsylvania's Susan Wild said in a joint statement last week.
"It is time for the United States to resume acting like the superpower in our relationship with our client states in the Gulf. They have made a choice and should live with the consequences. Our troops and military equipment are needed elsewhere," the trio said.
The White House, while disagreeing with the production cuts, is remaining tight-lipped about how it plans to respond to OPEC+, which is unofficially led by Riyadh.
"We will be assessing and consulting closely with Congress around a range of issues on the back end of this," Brian Deese, a top economic adviser to Biden, told reporters on Thursday. "And beyond that, I don't want to get ahead of potential announcements by the administration."
