Bernie Sanders angrily tells Saudi Arabia to seek Putin's help after OPEC production cuts

US Senator Bernie Sanders has angrily called on Saudi Arabia to "get Putin to defend its monarchy", saying that the US should "pull out all its troops" from the Gulf kingdom.

His comments, made on social media, followed an OPEC announcement of its biggest oil production cuts since 2020, a move which will likely send petrol prices upwards and is viewed as a boost for sanction-hit Russia.

Sanders also said the US must "stop selling them weapons & end its price-fixing oil cartel" if the Saudi Arabia "wants to partner with Russia to jack up US gas prices".

If Saudi Arabia, one of the worst violators of human rights in the world, wants to partner with Russia to jack up US gas prices, it can get Putin to defend its monarchy. We must pull all US troops out of Saudi Arabia, stop selling them weapons & end its price-fixing oil cartel.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 7, 2022

The US and European countries had called on Saudi Arabia and the UAE to use their influence in OPEC against oil production cuts, to keep a lid on high oil prices amid a global energy crisis. 

US officials also have said part of the reason Washington wants to lower oil prices is to deprive Moscow of revenue amid its continuing invasion of Ukraine.

However, OPEC ignored these calls and announced a 2 million barrel a day cut in production after prices dropped from $120 to $90 a barrel, saying it needed to stabilise prices.

US lawmakers have claimed the UAE and Saudi Arabia had clearly sided with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine by keeping prices high, as countries around the world have been hit by high inflation, gas and petrol prices caused by the conflict.

Democrats have since called on US President Joe Biden to pivot away from US support for the Gulf states after the apparent "betrayal".

The West has accused Russia of weaponising energy, creating a crisis in Europe that could trigger gas and power rationing this winter.

Moscow, meanwhile, accuses the West of weaponising the dollar and financial systems such as SWIFT in retaliation for Russia sending troops into Ukraine in February.