US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said Ukrainian attacks on russian oil infrastructure are one of the factors driving up global energy prices.

He made the remarks on Fox News after meeting with russian finance minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of the G20 summit, The New York Times reports.

According to Bessent, the world is currently experiencing an energy shock, which is associated with both the war in Ukraine and the conflict around Iran.

“We are currently experiencing an energy shock both because of the war in Ukraine – because Ukraine has decided that it wants to undermine russian energy assets and petroleum products, which creates pressure on rising prices on a global scale, and because of the conflict around Iran,” the American official said.

Against this background, the price of Brent oil has approached USD 97 per barrel, and the cost of diesel fuel in the United States – to record levels.

At the same time, the material notes that the main reason for the current global energy shock was the deployment of the US war against Iran. At the same time, the Donald Trump administration links part of the price increase to Ukraine’s actions against russian energy facilities.

Bessent’s statements also attracted attention because of his meeting with Siluanov. The russian minister’s invitation to the G20 summit was previously criticized by US allies.

Bessent, for his part, said that direct dialogue with russia is necessary to find ways to end the war.

“Unfortunately, this terrible conflict between russia and Ukraine – if the parties do not talk, if we are not involved, then how can it be resolved? I know that some Europeans have an unpleasant aftertaste, but I think it is very important to maintain dialogue,” he said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in late July, the Financial Times reported, citing analysts at S&P Global Energy, that Ukrainian strikes had disabled more than 30% of oil refining capacity.

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