Trump Urges Saudi Arabia and OPEC to Lower Oil Prices, Claims It Could End War in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump stated he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC  to lower oil prices, expressing surprise that such a move wasn’t made before the US elections in November. Trump made the statement speaking on January 23 at the World Economic Forum.

He suggested that lower oil prices could lead to an immediate end to the war in Ukraine.

"I'm also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil," Trump said. "You gotta bring it down. If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately. Right now, the price is high enough that that war will continue. You've got to bring down the oil price. You're going to end that war. They should have done it long ago."

Discussing defense, Trump stated his intention to push NATO member nations to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP. He claimed that most members only began meeting the 2% GDP target after his pressure during his first term.

“I insisted that they pay, and they did, because the United States was really paying the difference at that time,” he said.

Earlier today, NATO Chief Mark Rutte acknowledged that European NATO members are falling short in defense spending, warning that the 2% level will soon be insufficient to ensure security.

Rutte cautioned on January 23 that a Russian victory in Ukraine would significantly undermine the deterrence capabilities of the alliance, according to the Associated Press. He warned that rebuilding NATO's credibility in the aftermath would far exceed the current costs of increasing defense spending and industrial output.