US senators seek more information on Trump's Saudi nuclear proposal, letter says
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. senators asked President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday to declassify and release all information about a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy, including two classified "side letters" reached with Riyadh.
In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright, which was seen by Reuters, the senators noted that the government has reached dozens of these so-called 123 nuclear agreements with other countries without withholding such information.
"Access to the full text is required for the Senate and the public to have a clear understanding of the commitments being made on the nation's behalf and those being made by Saudi Arabia to the United States," the letter said.
The State and Energy departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The letter was led by Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ed Markey of Massachusetts and signed by 13 other Democratic senators, one independent who caucuses with Democrats, and two Republicans, Rand Paul of Kentucky and John Kennedy of Louisiana.
Trump sent the proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress in August, opening a 90-day window for lawmakers' review and giving them an opportunity to try to pass a resolution of disapproval.
Lawmakers have since been pushing for the declassification of the side letters, which were reached alongside the proposed deal, and also the release of related documents.
The nuclear agreement has also raised questions about whether Saudi Arabia would get the deal without normalizing relations with Israel. Trump has said it will only go into effect if Riyadh does so, but congressional aides have said there is nothing in the pact addressing that issue.
The letter sent Wednesday did not mention the Israel issue.
The 30-year nuclear deal calls for the construction of AP1000 reactors, a project worth tens of billions of dollars that would benefit Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco CCO.TO and Brookfield Asset Management BAM.N.
Some Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates have criticized the nuclear pact for not barring Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear waste, two potential pathways for making a nuclear weapon. The United Arab Emirates agreed to such measures, known as the gold standard, in its 2009 civil nuclear deal with Washington.
The Trump administration says the deal has nonproliferation measures required by law.