BEIJING/MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russia and Venezuela need to combine efforts to lift oil prices, President Vladimir Putin told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro yesterday, but refused to spell out any specific action, including output cuts. Maduro, who met Putin in Beijing after attending a Chinese military parade to mark 70 years since the end of World War Two in Asia, spoke of some “initiatives” agreed between the pair, but did not specify what those might be.
The economies of both Russia and Venezuela, two major producers, are highly dependent on proceeds from the sale of oil, the price of which has roughly halved since last year due to oversupply and a decision by the OPEC cartel not to cut production.
“Both parties noted during the meeting that such unstable oil prices are not in the interests of the two countries and, of course, the countries should integrate their efforts in terms of coordination to facilitate a boost in oil prices,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“However, President Putin drew attention to the fact that there could be no direct actions, this is a market process. There are lots of factors which are having an impact and that should be taken into consideration very carefully.”
