Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed his condolences to the Nigerian president in connection with the death of OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo, the text of the telegram was published on the Kremlin website.
"Dear Mr. President, please accept sincere condolences on the untimely death of a prominent Nigerian statesman, Secretary-General of the oil exporting countries Mohammed Barkindo," the telegram reads.
"Russia will always remember Mohammed Barkindo as a true friend of our country," Putin stressed.
According to him, Barkindo "by his long and effective work in OPEC has rightly earned a high international reputation." "Especially significant is his personal contribution to the creation of OPEC+, a unique mechanism of cooperation designed to ensure the stable and efficient functioning of the global oil market in the interests of producers and consumers of black gold," the Russian president pointed out.
He asked Buhari to "pass on the words of sympathy and support to the family and friends of the deceased and all Nigerian citizens".
As reported earlier on Wednesday, Barkindo died in Nigeria at the age of 64. The cause of death was not specified. He had served as OPEC secretary-general since 2016, his second term expiring this month. According to the organization's charter, the secretary general is elected for a term of three years and can be re-elected once.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS