Trump: "Russia's economy is terrible... If oil prices fall further, the war will stop"

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the Russian economy as "terrible" and argued that if international oil prices fall further, it would deal a fatal blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to wage war.

On the 5th (local time), President Trump said in a CNBC 'Squawk Box' interview, "If international oil prices drop another $10 per barrel, Putin will have no choice but to stop killing people," adding, "The Russian economy is a mess."

The United States and Russia maintained friendly relations until the early period of Trump’s second term, but recently, relations between the two countries have rapidly cooled. This is due to Russia’s uncooperative attitude toward signing a ceasefire and peace agreement with Ukraine.

Last week, President Trump informed President Putin that he would shorten the deadline for reaching a peace agreement with Ukraine from the previous ‘50 days’ to ‘within 2 weeks,’ and warned that if this was not implemented, ‘second-round sanction tariffs’ would be imposed on Russia’s trading partners.