Russian President and Saudi Crown Prince discuss the decision to cut oil production - the Kremlin informs

Moscow – Central Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had a phone conversation on Friday to discuss the OPEC Plus decision to cut oil production, informs the Kremlin. Last month, Russia and Saudi Arabia led the meeting in which the OPEC Plus announced a cut in oil production. The Western media is keenly watching the outcome of the discussion between the two leaders.

The discussion is in the times of upheaval with the Ukraine conflict and the crisis in the middle east. The Kremlin confirmed that both leaders expressed satisfaction over the decision taken 3 weeks ago to cut oil production to stabilise the international crude market. The Kremlin informed that the talks were constructive, informative and in a friendly environment.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, which leads the OPEC plus group, announced a cut in oil production to control the price. Following this, other oil-producing countries decided to reduce oil production by 1.1 million barrels per day by the end of this year. The UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Gabon followed Saudi in announcing a cut in oil production.

As Saudi Arabia started reducing oil production by 0.5 million barrels per day, the international media drew attention towards Russia’s decision to reduce production by the same quantity. The decision of OPEC Plus was a shock to the US and their European allies. The US has criticised and accused Saudi Arabia of taking decisions in Russia’s interest. The media claims that the decision of Saudi and OPEC plus countries would help Russia with an increase in the oil price which would mean extending indirect support to Russia against Ukraine.

Analysts have pointed out that, ironically, the US and European allies have continued to buy oil from Russia. Some European countries have even imported precious diamonds from Russia in recent times. The US and Europe are not willing to accept this fact.

The US and European countries are yet to register their reaction to the decision taken by OPEC Plus. However, there are claims that some new decisions are expected after the recent conversation between the Russian President and the Saudi Crown prince. Israel confirmed that the outcome of the meeting is strategically important given the crisis in the Middle-East region.

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