Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud exchanged views on the situation in Syria following talks in Tehran. According to the Kremlin press service, they discussed the topic over the phone on Thursday.
"There was also an exchange of views on the situation in Syria in view of the results of the July 19 meeting in Tehran of the heads of states - guarantors of the Astana process to facilitate the Syrian settlement," the report said.
The Kremlin press service noted that "both sides gave a positive assessment of the achieved level of friendly relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia". They also discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation with a focus on expanding mutually beneficial trade and economic ties.
"The current situation on the world oil market was discussed in detail. The importance of further coordination within the framework of OPEC+ was emphasized," the press service reported.
According to the Kremlin, the conversation "noted with satisfaction that the countries-participants of this format consistently fulfill their obligations in order to maintain the necessary balance and stability in the world energy market."
"It is agreed to continue contacts at various levels," the Kremlin summarized.
US President Joe Biden was on his first official visit to Saudi Arabia from July 14 to 16. The US leader said at the end of June that he would not ask the Saudi leadership to increase the oil supply, but he specified that he hoped to increase supplies to the world market from all the monarchies of the Persian Gulf. Nevertheless, the topic of ensuring an adequate global oil supply came up during Biden's talks with Saudi representatives.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Tuesday that the kingdom does not see a shortage of oil in the world market, but rather a lack of refining capacity. Commenting on the situation with energy supplies in the world, Al Saud noted that "without collective cooperation of OPEC+ countries it is impossible to properly ensure stable oil supplies" in sufficient volumes. In this connection he stressed that "Russia is an integral part of OPEC+". The head of the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that Riyadh is committed to stabilizing the energy market.
Earlier, the countries of the OPEC+ alliance had agreed to increase production levels in August by a combined 648,000 bpd. The next OPEC+ meeting will be held on August 3.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Rosselkhoznadzor
Based on materials TASS