Trump Wouldn’t Owe Putin a ‘Thank You’ for Selling More Oil
The president’s deals with foreign leaders are like a quid pro quo, except Americans don’t get anything out of them.
Beware.
Source: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office, via Getty Images
After a tumultuous week of unpredictable twists and turns during President Donald Trump’s visit to Europe, anxiety levels have risen among experts and policy makers about the coming summit between Trump and President Vladimir Putin. As President Trump himself has noted, there is no shortage of issues demanding the attention of the two leaders: Syria, Iran, arms control and — who knows — maybe even Russia’s interference in America’s elections. But energy could snake its way onto the agenda, and Trump needs to be careful not to give Putin concessions in exchange for something the Russian president already plans on doing.
Three things suggest energy may be on Trump’s mind when he enters the room with Putin on Monday. First, the Trump administration is reported to be debating whether to release some oil from U.S. emergency stockpiles to ease the prices that Americans are currently paying at the pump. Second, the president has spent an inordinate amount of time in the past weeks — as recently as July 4 — berating OPEC members for not putting enough oil on global markets and creating higher prices. Thirdly, Trump himself raised Russia’s energy relationship with Germany while in Europe this week, accusing America’s ally of being under the thumb of Moscow given Germany’s dependence on Russian energy. Particularly in a summit without a clear and structured agenda, the fact that energy and elevated oil prices are on the mind of Trump could easily translate into a conversation about the topic.