OPEC officials in Moscow for talks with Russia

MOSCOW (AFP) – Top officials from
OPEC and Russia will hold talks Monday to discuss future cooperation between the two giant oil exporters, said the OPEC president, Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

In comments made during a meeting with journalists from the Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS, Sheikh Ahmad noted that Russia was the world’s second-leading oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia and a critical force in ensuring oil market stability.
According to the news agency, he also said that Russia could one day join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and that whether it was a member or not Moscow had always worked closely with the cartel on pricing and production policies.

The fact that Russia will take over as chairman of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized countries next year means that now is a particularly opportune moment to hold discussions with Moscow on the oil market, he added.

AFP