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Trump's advisor, like the president himself, believes that oil is the key to ending the war.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the war in Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, believes that tougher measures to influence the Russian oil industry could force the Kremlin to negotiate a settlement to the war it has unleashed, he said in an interview with Fox News on Friday.
In his opinion, the world will not be able to force Russia to end the war simply by helping Ukraine win victories on the battlefield, but limiting the price of oil could play a decisive role.
“Russia makes billions of dollars from oil sales. What if we lowered that to $45 per barrel, which is the break-even point?” Kellogg suggested.
Among other measures of influence, he also mentioned blocking the export of microelectronics for the Russian defense industry.
US President Donald Trump expressed the same opinion, calling oil revenue the engine of the Russian economy, AP reported.
"One way to stop this [the war in Ukraine] quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money. And for them to bring down the price of oil, because they have it very high. And if it's high, the war is not going to end so easily. So OPEC has to get down to business and bring down the price of oil. And this war will stop right away," Trump told reporters during a visit to North Carolina on Friday.
Under Joe Biden, the U.S. and other allies have set a price cap on Russian oil at $60 a barrel. On Friday morning, Brent crude, the benchmark for international crude used by many U.S. refineries, was trading around $78.
