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Russia, KSA to strengthen bilateral relations within OPEC+: Kremlin

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Jan 2023 18:34

The Russian President and his Saudi Arabian counterpart discuss cooperation within OPEC+ in order to maintain global oil market stability.

An OPEC flag is seen on the day of the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna, Austria, on October 5, 2022. (Reuters)

The Kremlin highlighted on Monday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed, via a phone call, the importance of cooperation within OPEC+ to safeguard the stability of the global oil market.

According to the statement, "the issues of further development of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic and energy fields, as well as cooperation within the framework of OPEC+ to ensure the stability of the world oil market were discussed."

Russia oil price cap political, OPEC decision economic

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman considered in December 2022 that the impact of European sanctions and the G7 imposed price cap on Russian oil "did not bring clear results yet."

"What is happening now in terms of sanctions and price caps imposed and all of it really did not bring clear results, including measures implemented on Dec. 5, we see a state of uncertainty in implementation," the Saudi Minister told a forum held following the country's 2023 budget announcements in Riyadh.

He indicated that Moscow's response to these tools needed to be taken into consideration when looking at the state of play in global markets.

Referring to the price cap imposed on Russian crude oil, Prince Abdulaziz pointed out that "these tools were created for political purposes, and it is not clear yet whether they can achieve these political purposes."

The Saudi diplomat said other factors affecting the market going into 2023 include China's Covid-19 policies, adding that the impact on China's economy from easing Covid-19 restrictions still "needs time".

The Minister further explained that "central banks are still preoccupied with managing inflation, no matter the cost of these measures and their possible negative impact on global economic growth."

Prince Abdulaziz considered that when taken into consideration, the OPEC+ decision to cut production by two million barrels per day was proven to be correct.

On December 4, OPEC+ decided to maintain its oil production targets in line with the October accord when the group reduced output by two million barrels of oil per day.

Prince Abdulaziz affirmed that OPEC+ would continue to focus on market stability in the coming year, pointing out that every member of the alliance takes part in decision-making.