Putin’s Plea to Donald Trump During Meeting

President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Putin in Helsinki, Finland on Monday generated widespread media controversy about the U.S. president’s purported servility.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plea to the United States to rig the world oil market revealed the vulnerability of his own country.

“I think that we as a major oil and gas power, and the United States as a major oil and gas power as well, we could work together on regulation of international markets, because neither of us is actually interested in the plummeting of the prices,” Putin said. . .

The Russian government is particularly sensitive to oil price volatility since its financing is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue. In January, the Russian government exhausted its reserve fund by merging it with the National Welfare Fund to cover budget shortfalls, the country’s Ministry of Finance announced.

On Monday, world oil prices plunged over the potential release of global crude reserves and U.S. diplomatic talk over potential Iranian oil sanction waivers, Market Watch reported. Downward pressure from the International Monetary Fund’s projected sluggish global economic growth contributed to a decline in benchmark Brent crude prices on the ICE futures exchange to its lowest showing in three months: a 4.6% decline to close at $71.84 a barrel. (Read more from “Putin’s Plea to Donald Trump During Meeting” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.