Russian President Putin urges compromise on Iran oil production
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a potential oil output freeze deal between oil-exporting countries should involve some compromise on Iran’s production levels.
“I think that from the point of view of economic expediency and logic, it would be right to find some sort of compromise” on the Iranian output, Putin told Bloomberg.
He said countries now recognize that Iran should be allowed to continue raising production as sanctions have been lifted against the country.
“Iran is starting from a very low position, connected with the well-known sanctions in relation to this country,” the Russian president said, adding, “It would be unfair to leave it on this sanctioned level.”
Oil-exporting countries have been seeking a deal to cap production levels in an attempt to prevent a further drop in global oil prices, which in recent years saw a fall from a high of 147 dollars a barrel to a low of around 25 dollars.
Saudi Arabia, however, has repeatedly hindered such a deal by insisting that Iran agree to the same low production level as assigned for other countries.
“I would very much like to hope that all the participants in this market, who want to maintain stable and fair world prices for energy resources, will at the end of the day take the necessary decision,” Putin said.
Elsewhere e in his interview, a transcript of which was published on the Kremlin’s website, the Russian president held Saudi Arabia responsible for failed attempts by OPEC and non-OPEC oil exporters to reach a pact on stabilizing production levels.
“It wasn’t us who rejected a freeze on production volumes, it was our Saudi partners who at the last minute changed their point of view and decided to take a time out in taking this decision,” Putin pointed out.
He said he would convey his position to Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he may meet on the sidelines of a G20 gathering in China this weekend. “If Prince Salman and I talk on this subject, I will of course lay out our position again: we believe that it (an output freeze) is the right decision for global energy.”
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