DAVOS: Addressing the World Economic Forum, the US president pledged to apply pressure on OPEC, claiming that a drop in the price of oil would end Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that the war in Ukraine could be brought to an end by a fall in the price of oil.
Speaking via video link at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Trump said he would ask the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower the price of oil, saying it would end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine “immediately”.
“Right now the price is high enough that war will continue, you gotta bring down the oil price and end the war,” he added.
Trump pledged to pressure Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices, suggesting that economic measures, rather than military aid, could be the key to ending the conflict.
The recently inaugurated president also expressed a willingness to engage directly with Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war. While he has not offered details on how he would negotiate peace, Trump has insisted that “Ukraine is ready to make a deal”.
The plausibility of Trump’s strategy is unclear. Russia has weathered a multitude of US and European sanctions since its full-scale war in Ukraine began almost three years ago. Oil had been Russia's largest export to the US, but that trade was zeroed out in 2023.
Iran, meanwhile, is both a member of OPEC and a Russian ally and may push back against Trump’s proposed plan.
However, Trump is also proposing to order a new wave of US drilling for domestic oil and gas, which could also push down global prices and put pressure on Russia.
In his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskyy said: “The main thing is not to slow down and to put pressure on Russia, the only entity that wants this war.”
Meanwhile, Russia insisted on Friday that a settlement in Ukraine couldn’t be facilitated by a drop in global oil prices as President Trump has suggested.
Asked about Trump’s comments, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed Moscow’s view that the Ukrainian conflict was triggered by the West’s refusal to take into account Russian security interests.
“The conflict doesn’t depend on oil prices,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “The conflict is ongoing because of the threat to Russia’s national security, the threat to Russians living on those territories and the refusal by the Americans and the Europeans to listen to Russia’s security concerns. It’s not linked to oil prices.” — Agencies
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