Trump, Putin discuss oil prices, corona

Washington, March 30: President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed plunging oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, the Kremlin said, as Mr Trump said Moscow is pressing for an end to US sanctions.

The two “expressed serious concern regarding the scope of the spread of the coronavirus” and “discussed closer cooperation,” a brief Kremlin statement said. Mr Trump announced he’d be using the call to raise objections over a Russian-Saudi price war driving down world oil prices and “really hurting” the US energy industry.

“We don’t want to have a dead industry,” Mr Trump told Fox News in an interview shortly before talking to Mr Putin. “This is a fight between Saudi Arabia and Russia ... And they both went crazy.”

“I never thought I’d be saying that maybe we have to have an oil (prices) increase, because we do,” Mr Trump said.

The Kremlin statement after the call merely said they had “exchanged opinions” on the oil market.

Mr Trump also told Fox he expected Mr Putin would use the call to push for a lifting of US sanctions on Russia.

“He’ll probably ask for that,” Mr Trump told Fox News. “He’s been asking that for two years.”

The Kremlin statement did not mention sanctions, but said unspecified “certain issues” of bilateral relations were aired.

Mr Trump did not say what his response would be, noting that he had put sanctions on Russia but adding: “They don’t like that. Frankly we should be able to get along.”

The bulk of US sanctions against Russia were imposed over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in Ukraine.