PARIS, France – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have discussed their cooperation within the OPEC+ oil producers’ group, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The two leaders spoke by phone and expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination within OPEC+ to ensure the stability of the global oil market, according to a Kremlin statement.
They also noted the importance of the agreements reached at the group’s meeting this week, under which Saudi Arabia will make a deep cut to its output in July on top of a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024.
OPEC+, which groups OPEC members and other producers led by Russia, agreed on Tuesday to stick to a plan to gradually ease supply curbs through July and confirmed that output would rise by 2.1 million barrels per day between May and July.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, also said it would phase out its voluntary cut of 1 million bpd by July, bringing more oil to the market as demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Vladimir Putin and Prince Mohammed bin Salman also discussed bilateral ties between Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest, the Kremlin said.
The two countries are key players in the Middle East and have been involved in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Syria and the conflict in Yemen.
