Trump says Russia's war in Ukraine 'will end immediately' if OPEC lowers oil prices

January 23, 2025

By Ukraine

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President Donald Trump said on Jan. 23 he will ask the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower the price of oil, saying it would end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine "immediately."

"If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately," he said via videolink at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue, you gotta bring down the oil price and end that war," he added.

Lower global oil prices would deplete Russia's main source of revenue that it uses to fund its war in Ukraine, though a recent analysis in Foreign Policy suggested any effects would likely take months to significantly hamper the Kremlin's war machine.

OPEC consists of 12 countries including Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, which collectively account for around 30% of the global oil supply. By agreeing to lower or raise the amount of oil they all produce, OPEC can dramatically affect the global oil price.

Another Trump policy — declaring open season on drilling for U.S. oil and gas — could also potentially push down prices and box out Russian oil.

Trump was also asked if there would be a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia by the time of next year's World Economic Forum.

"Well you'll have to ask Russia. Ukraine is ready to make a deal," he said.

Speaking of China, he said they "have a great deal of power over that situation," and that he hoped the U.S. could work with Beijing to end the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A day earlier, Trump said that if a "deal" to end the war in Ukraine was not reached soon, he would have no choice but to "put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States and other participating countries."

In response, the Kremlin said it sees nothing new in Trump's threats to impose sanctions if no deal on the war in Ukraine is reached, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Jan. 23.

"We don't see any particularly new elements here. You know that Trump, in the first iteration of his presidency, was the American president who most often resorted to sanctions methods," Peskov said.

Russia is ready for an "equal and respectful" dialogue with the U.S., as it was during Trump's first term, Peskov added.

The Kremlin spokesman also noted that no preparations are currently underway for a meeting between Trump and Putin.

President Volodymyr Zelensky led a Ukrainian delegation at the World Economic Forum that sought to highlight the country's economic potential and investment appeal, framing the country as a "prize, not a burden.

Events held at the Ukraine House, the country's pavilion at the forum, have focused on Ukraine's vast natural resources, and defense and agricultural sectors.

The delegation's website says Ukraine holds $26 trillion in mineral wealth, including one-third of Europe's lithium reserves and significant gas reserves.