Without knowing the details... I find it plausible that the current drop in oil prices is the work of America and Saudi Arabia, trying to weaken Russia and Iran.
And I wanted to record a thought - that if this is indeed economic warfare directed against Russia, it shows the remarkable viciousness of the hatred of Russia and Putin currently possessing western elites.
I say this because, when I read Russian and pro-Russian commentary, I sometimes see people saying that western elites have become insane and unhinged in their attitudes to Russia, that there is an intense campaign of demonization of Putin underway, and so forth.
For my part, I certainly get exasperated by the hypocrisy and ignorance of what's being written about Russia by western pundits. But it's hard to gauge what the western elites are actually feeling and thinking, whether they are sober or unhinged, etc.
So here, the use of the "oil weapon" seems like an important datum. To me, it feels consistent with the idea that the powers-that-be in the west, really have lost the capacity to negotiate or compromise with Russia, that they are pursuing a maximalist strategy of seeking to either subjugate or wound Russia.
I find that personally alarming, because when has that ever worked? Are these people really hoping for a replay of 1989-1991? They should watch out that their own house of cards doesn't fall first.
