Moscow, Riyadh Dialogue on Oil Prices Unrelated to Syrian Crisis: Kremlin
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The agreement between Russia and some OPEC countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, on freezing oil production at January levels gives no reason to believe that Moscow and Riyadh reached an understanding on settling the Syrian crisis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela announced during talks in Doha that they are ready to freeze average oil production in 2016 at January levels if other producers agreed to do the same.
"These are different matters. In this particular case, we are talking about the global energy market, to a large extent since Russia and Saudi Arabia are the leading oil producers in the world, that’s why it is natural that they are engaged in a dialogue on an issue that is related with their own interests. Both sides are naturally interested in such a dialogue," Peskov told reporters, Sputnik News reported.
The drop in oil prices and approaches to the Syrian crisis are not interdependent or interconnected, he added.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003, mostly over prolonged oversupply and subdued demand.
Since the collapse in oil prices in the first half of January, officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states and non-OPEC states have been considering holding a meeting to address the declining oil prices.
