Putin and MbS discuss OPEC+, BRICS cooperation
Russia and Saudi Arabia have been moving closer together since the start of the war in Ukraine
By
News Desk
– April 22 2023
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Vladimir Putin (right) and Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 leaders’ summit in Buenos Aires in 2018. (Photo Credit Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) discussed possible Saudi cooperation with the BRICS bloc of nations and expressed support for the two nations’ cooperation as part of OPEC+ during a phone conversation on 21 April.
A statement issued by the Kremlin said: “The Russian president congratulated the Kingdom’s leadership and people on Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the blessed month of Ramadan.”
The statement added that the two sides exchanged views on various aspects of current affairs in West Asia within the framework of Russian and Saudi efforts to resolve crises in this region.
Putin and MbS also discussed ongoing coordination within OPEC+ to stabilize the global oil market.
The Kremlin said: “A number of issues on the bilateral agenda were studied with a focus on further expanding mutually beneficial relations in the fields of trade, economic, investment, and energy, and satisfaction was expressed with the level of coordination within OPEC+ in order to ensure the stability of relations between the two countries and the global oil market.”
OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-exporting countries which meets to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market, cut oil production once again in early April in a surprise move to shore up oil prices in the wake of a banking crisis in the US.
The bank failures, in part, resulted due to aggressive interest rate raises over the past year by the US Federal Reserve.
The interest rate raises are meant to tame inflation in the US and the broader world economy, but risk causing an economic recession that could reduce oil demand and cause falling prices, a negative outcome for the world’s large oil producing nations.
Despite the recent cust,s the global oil price has slid in recent days, as fears of an economic slowdown continue to weigh on investor sentiment.
The March OPEC+ production cut follows a previous cut in October 2022 of 2 million barrels per day (bpd), which surprised the White House.
