US President Donald Trump has been quite vocal on his accusations toward the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for being the culprit behind the surging oil prices as of late. However, if the Russian President Vladimir Putin is to be asked, it's actually the Trump administration that should be put to blame on this uncontrollable crude price increase.
Speaking in front of delegates at the Russia Energy Week forum in Moscow this Wednesday, the Russian head of state said that while Trump could be right to think that the current oil prices are too high, it is wrong for Washington to point fingers, according to CNBC.
Further citing the statement he made during the meeting, Putin said that to some extent, this huge spike of crude prices is the direct result of the decisions made by the Trump administration. For one, as the president pointed out, Washington moved to impose an uncalled for economic sanctions on Iran on the basis of intelligence report saying that the Islamic Republic has violated the terms of the 2015 Nuclear Pact.
This consequently cut off the supply from OPEC's third-largest oil producer in the market thereby severely depleting the world's stock on fossil fuel.
Moreover, Putin also raised the issue of the political problems in Venezuela, yet another crucial OPEC member, which the US has a hand to play with.
Meanwhile, the Russian strongman went on to attribute the White House on the chaotic situation in Libya which, according to him, is a consequence of irresponsible politics, as he was quoted over at RT.
Like Iran, Libya's present political circumstance hampered its oil industry activity and thus caused a severe decline in production.
The former KGB operative-turned politician reiterated that if there's someone who's to blame on the growing crude prices, Trump need not to look elsewhere. At the end of the day, it's the American government that brought about this current economic dilemma.
Russia's Cooperation With OPEC
At the forum, Putin said that although Russia is not a bona fide member of the oil cartel, it has, in some way, helped successfully restore the balance in the market, settling a good price range of USD$65 to USD$75 per barrel, a Bloomberg report said.
As further mentioned in the business publication, Putin assured that his country is committed to putting in the necessary amount of crude supply from 200,000 to 300,000 barrels to the market.
Brent crude futures increased to USD$85 per barrel this week, a price level not seen since 2014.
