ISW: Oil prices affecting Russia's ability to wage war concerns Putin

That’s according to the latest report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank.

Putin responded to Trump during an interview on January 24, stating that Russia and the U.S. are major producers and consumers of oil, and that "too high prices are bad" for both the American and Russian economies.

The Russian leader argued that Russia and the U.S. rely on energy resources for domestic industry, and that "too low prices" would allegedly "undermine the investment opportunities of energy companies." In this way, Putin sought to portray the more modern and diversified US economy as operating in a similar way to that of Russia, a petrostate that heavily relies on energy export revenues.

“Falling oil prices would decrease Russia's federal budget revenues and risk destabilizing the Russian regime’s stability while also reducing Russia's share of the global oil market and economic influence on the global stage,” ISW analysts said.

The report noted that Putin's emphasis on the need to maintain prices for the sake of energy companies' investments also demonstrates the extent to which Putin feels it necessary to cater to the elite in his inner circle who have personal interests in the energy sector.

“Putin's attempt to portray lower oil prices as against US interests suggests that Putin is afraid of the harm such policies would cause Russia and is trying to persuade Trump to abandon these proposals without having to concede to Trump’s insistence on meaningful negotiations to end the war,” ISW believes.

Also, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, during an interview aired on national television, Putin sent a signal to domestic audiences that “Russia is unlikely to participate in peace negotiations in the near future and that the war is unlikely to end soon”.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Thursday, during a video conference address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, U.S. President Donald Trump said he intends to appeal to Saudi Arabia and OPEC to jointly reduce world oil prices, which he believes could instantly stop the Russo--Ukrainian war.

On Wednesday, Trump said he did not seek to harm Russia, but would have no choice but to impose "high level of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions" on goods from Russia should Moscow snub a peace agreement on Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed decreasing global oil prices would not affect the outcome of the war.