Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed close cooperation in the OPEC+ oil cartel and discussed Ukraine, the oil giants and Syria at a meeting of foreign ministers on Thursday.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said he spoke with his Russian counterpart about “the importance of deep coordination between the Kingdom and Russia in the energy markets” and expressed the “unyielding commitment ” of his country with the OPEC+ agreement.
At a joint press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said energy cooperation was not affected by the war in Ukraine. The US and its allies have sought to isolate Moscow over its invasion with sanctions and have armed Ukrainian forces in the conflict.
The next OPEC+ ministerial meeting is in early June. US President Joe Biden last October accused Riyadh of siding with Russia when OPEC+ cut production despite pleas from Washington to do otherwise. Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia hit a new low over oil policy, and Moscow has sought to exploit the rift.
The Saudi foreign minister’s visit to Moscow comes after he made a surprise trip to Kiev late last month, the first visit by a senior Saudi official in 30 years. Saudi Arabia, which has been involved in prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, will continue to “seek possibilities to facilitate dialogue between both sides,” Prince Faisal said. The Arab states of the Gulf have tried to cover their positions between Moscow and Kiev.
Lavrov also discussed Syria, where Russia has been deeply involved since 2015 in support of President Bashar Al-Assad. He said Syria should be allowed to return to the Arab League. Saudi Arabia has said the move is premature.
–With the help of Kateryna Kadabashy.
