At the end of this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, the president was asked by New York Times reporter Jim Tankersley about the rise in oil prices as a result of Western sanctions on Russia in response to the February 24 attack. “The war has raised prices. [Oil] “It could reach $ 200 a barrel, some analysts believe,” Tankersley said. “How long is it fair to wait for American drivers and drivers around the world to pay this premium for this war?” “As long as it takes,” Biden replied. “Russia can not, in fact, defeat Ukraine and go beyond Ukraine. “This is a crucial, crucial position for the world,” he said. “Here we are. Why do we have NATO? I told Putin that, in fact, if we were going to move [against Ukraine], we would move to strengthen NATO. “We would move to strengthen NATO in general.” A man refills his vehicle amid high petrol prices on June 22.AP During his 26-minute crackdown, Biden also reiterated his government’s stance that rising energy and food prices around the world are largely a consequence of the Russian invasion, which has curtailed wheat supplies from Ukraine. as well as oil and gas supplies to Europe. . “The bottom line is that, ultimately, the reason for the rise in gas prices is because of Russia. “Russia, Russia, Russia,” said the president. “The reason for the food crisis is because of Russia.” Biden went on to defend his government’s economic record, including twice erroneously claiming that inflation was lower in the United States than in other developed countries. A Chevron gas station displays the price per gallon at over $ 7 in Los Angeles, California. AFP via Getty Images “We have the strongest economy in the world. “Our inflation rates are lower than other nations in the world,” he said, adding: “I can understand why the American people are frustrated by inflation. “But inflation is higher in almost every other country.” Annual inflation in the US 8.6% in May was the highest since 1981 and higher than the estimated monthly average of the Eurozone 8.1%, Canada 7.7%, South Korea 5.4% and Japan 2 , 5%. Annual inflation in the United Kingdom was 9.1% higher than the US rate in May, but the US rate exceeded 7.9% in Germany, 5.8% in France and 6.9% in Italy. Biden addresses the media after the NATO summit in Madrid on June 30. REUTERS Biden also reiterated his call to Congress to suspend the federal gas tax of about 18 cents per gallon of gas and urged states to follow suit to help reduce pump prices. “If we do these things, it is estimated that we could reduce tomorrow, if Congress agreed and the states agreed, we could reduce the price of oil by about a dollar a gallon to a pump in this range,” he said. As of Thursday morning, the national average price of a gallon of gas stood at $ 4,857, down about 16 cents from a record high of $ 5,016 on June 14.
