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MIAMI – Five key Republican senators are pushing President Donald Trump to take punitive action against Saudi Arabia for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, threatening to jeopardize ongoing nuclear talks with the kingdom if the president does not. did not act.
The group, led by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), is pushing Trump on US-Saudi relations by calling on the president to suspend talks on civilian nuclear power with Saudi Arabia, and warning that "we are in the middle of the war." they could block future US-Saudi nuclear deal.
"As new evidence has emerged, and the administration has become aware of more information, you have seen the tone and content of its comments change, and that is positive. But ultimately, if the words matter, the actions matter even more, "Rubio told the Daily Beast during an interview in Miami after being arrested for GOP governor candidate Ron DeSantis. "The most important thing that needs to happen here is not just that the president says the right things."
A few days after the Saudi government admitted that Khashoggi was assassinated last month in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, the Trump government promised to revoke some Saudi visas, leaving other options, including human rights sanctions. the man. But some lawmakers are starting to get upset as they prepare to return to Washington after mid-term elections next week, as Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo begin to condemn the government. Saudi with more force.
The Trump administration is seeking an agreement with the Saudi government that would allow US companies to build nuclear facilities in Saudi Arabia. Legislators have long feared that such an agreement would allow the Saudis to develop nuclear weapons themselves, and these worries worsen after Khashoggi's death.
"One of the most important things we do with [Saudi Arabia] is the ability to enrich uranium, reprocess plutonium and have nuclear energy, "added Rubio. "So it is really worrying that if a government is willing to murder a green card holder American in a third country in a diplomatic establishment, I think it's legitimate to wonder if we can trust such a government with nuclear energy and the weapons manufacturing potential of the latter. he."
By potentially blocking a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, Rubio does not think it would undermine the US president – who, he says, can send a message to the Saudi government "in the same way that" he said. a senator or congressman can not. "
The Trump administration has put significant political capital into its relations with Saudi Arabia, whose de facto head, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has implemented democratic reforms at the national level. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have long been skeptical of the White House's close relations with the kingdom, and some say that relations between Congress and Saudi Arabia are the worst that the United States has. it has never been, aggravated by the ever-changing explanations of the Saudi government what exactly happened to Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and distinguished critic of the management in Riyadh.
"As important as this relationship is, the price of this relationship can not be our silence or our acquiescence when they violate the standards and principles deeply held by the American people and embodied by our country," said Rubio, who sits on the commission. external relations and intelligence. "No relationship is too big to fail."
Regardless of the nuclear deal, lawmakers are also threatening to use their authority to block, if necessary, US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, even as Trump maintains that arms sales are beneficial to the United States. American economy.
The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday that the crown prince had sent one of his deputies, Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, to the United States as part of an awareness campaign aimed at restoring the image of the kingdom. The objectives of the campaign include members of Congress, lobbyists and United Nations officials.
Rubio said he was not aware of such efforts and that he had not been contacted by Saudi officials. But he said that he would tell Turki that it will be impossible for us to continue this alliance if that is what they intend to continue doing, "referring to the "barbaric" operation to kill Khashoggi.
