U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday, August 5, that a decline in energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“If energy drops low enough, Putin will stop killing people,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC. “If you push energy down another $10 per barrel, he’ll have no choice, because his economy is in miserable shape.”
Last week, Trump issued a deadline until August 8 for Putin to take steps toward ending the conflict in Ukraine or face harsher U.S. sanctions. His administration has also put pressure on India and China to halt purchases of Russian oil.
Trump told CNBC that the drop in energy prices stems from increased production, including by OPEC countries, and forecasted further reductions.
“If you notice, OPEC and OPEC+ are drilling more because I think they want to make me happy,” he said, as reported by Reuters.
On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September—the latest in a series of steps to reclaim market share amid growing concerns over potential supply disruptions from Russia.
This move marks a significant reversal of OPEC+’s earlier production cuts and includes a notable production boost for the United Arab Emirates, reaching a total of 2.5 million barrels per day, or approximately 2.4% of global demand.
Eight OPEC+ member countries held a brief virtual meeting, as the U.S. ramps up pressure on India to halt Russian oil imports—part of Washington’s broader strategy to bring Moscow to the negotiating table for a peace deal with Ukraine.
Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised Russia’s economic growth forecast downward, reducing its 2025 projection to 0.9% from 1.5% in April.
