Russia's economy 'stinks,' Trump says, and lower oil prices will stop its war machine

The rift betwixt Moscow and Washington looks acceptable to deepen aft U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Russia's system "stinks" and that little lipid prices volition hammer President Vladimir Putin's oil-funded warfare machine.

"Putin volition halt sidesplitting radical if you get vigor down different $10 a barrel. He's going to person nary prime due to the fact that his system stinks," the president told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

The comments travel aft relations betwixt Moscow and Washington, which remained cordial astatine the commencement of Trump's 2nd word successful bureau contempt the ongoing war, soured successful caller weeks.

Trump has appeared to suffer patience with Putin fixed Russia's evident reluctance to prosecute a ceasefire oregon bid woody with Ukraine. Last Monday, the president said helium was cutting from 50 days to less than 2 weeks his deadline for Putin to scope a peace deal with Ukraine oregon look large "secondary tariffs" connected Moscow's commercialized partners.

That prompted erstwhile Russian President and high-ranking Russian official Dmitry Medvedev to respond connected societal media that each caller ultimatum that Trump makes astir Russia to unit an extremity to its warfare on Ukraine "is a menace and a measurement towards war."

"Not betwixt Russia and Ukraine, but with his ain country," Medvedev wrote connected X. Trump said connected Friday said that helium had ordered two nuclear submarines "to beryllium positioned successful the due regions" successful effect to Medvedev's comments.

Russia, 1 of the world's apical lipid exporters, has utilized revenues from lipid exports to mostly money its warfare instrumentality successful Ukraine, which it invaded successful 2022. Ukraine's Western partners person utilized sanctions and restrictions to effort to stifle those revenues, but countries similar India and China person continued to bargain discounted Russian crude.

This has infuriated Trump and helium has, successful the past fewer days, threatened India with steep tariffs if it does not halt buying Russian oil. The president threatened a 25% work connected Indian exports, arsenic good arsenic an unspecified "penalty" past week, accusing New Delhi of buying discounted Russian lipid and "selling it connected the Open Market for large profits."

On Tuesday, Trump told CNBC that the tariff threshold could beryllium hiked supra 25% successful the adjacent 24 hours.

"India has not been a bully trading spouse ... truthful we settled connected 25%, but I deliberation I'm going to rise that precise substantially implicit the adjacent 24 hours, due to the fact that they're buying Russian oil, they're fueling the warfare machine, and if they're going to bash that, I'm not going to beryllium happy," Trump said.

Russia earlier connected Tuesday weighed into the spat, with the Kremlin saying India was escaped to take its ain trading partners and that Trump's tariff threats were "attempts to unit countries to halt commercialized relations with Russia."

"We bash not see specified statements to beryllium legitimate," Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov continued, speaking to reporters Tuesday.

"We judge that sovereign countries should have, and person the close to take their ain commercialized partners, partners successful commercialized and economical cooperation. And to take those commercialized and economical practice regimes that are successful the interests of a peculiar country."

Oil prices declined to astir the mid-$65 a tube people connected Tuesday arsenic traders assessed the announcement by OPEC and its oil-producing allies connected Sunday that they would hike output, amid imaginable weaker planetary demand.

After Trump's comments connected Tuesday, Brent crude futures were down 83 cents, oregon 1.2%, to $67.92 a barrel, portion U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 87 cents to $65.41.

Meanwhile, acheronian clouds surely look to beryllium gathering connected the skyline erstwhile it comes to Russia's war-focused economy. It has labored nether the value of planetary sanctions arsenic good arsenic homegrown pressures, besides mostly resulting from war, specified arsenic rampant ostentation and precocious nutrient and accumulation costs that even Putin described arsenic "alarming." Russia's Economic Development Ministry besides predicts that economical maturation volition dilatory from 4.3% successful 2024 to 2.5% this year.