The White House has warned Saudi Arabia not to sell U.S. assets and destabilise the international financial system, as the two allies are increasingly locked in a row over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said on Tuesday in New York that the warning was in response to a threat by Saudi Arabia to sell as much as 750 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of American assets should the U.S. Congress pass a bill that could hold Saudi Arabia responsible for any role in the terrorist attacks 15 years ago.
He said while commenting on the reports stressed that a country with a modern and large economy like Saudi Arabia would not benefit from a destabilised global financial market neither would the U.S.
The spokesperson said Saudi Arabia and the U.S. had shared interest in protecting the stability of the international financial system.
Earnest noted that the administration of President Barack Obama opposed the bill and Obama would not sign it even if it cleared the legislature.
He said Obama has reportedly warned lawmakers of the potential economic and diplomatic fallout should the bill get passed, and had lobbied Congress to block it.
(Xinhua/NAN)