Putin discussed with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia cooperation through OPEC +

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. The call took place at the initiative of the Saudi side, the Kremlin said.

“A number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda were considered with an emphasis on the further expansion of mutually beneficial ties in the trade, economic, investment and energy fields,” — says in the message.

In particular, the leaders of the two countries discussed cooperation within the framework of OPEC + and expressed satisfaction with the coordination within the organization to ensure the stability of the global oil market. Questions were also raised about the prospects for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and BRICS.

In addition, Putin and the Saudi prince shared their views on the situation in the Middle East. During the conversation, the Russian president congratulated the leadership and people of the kingdom on the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The Kremlin noted that the communication between the leaders “was held in a friendly manner”, and the conversation itself was called constructive and meaningful.

Putin regularly communicates by phone with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. Previous conversation leaders took place in the end of January. At that time, issues of further cooperation in the political, trade, economic and energy fields, as well as interaction within the framework of OPEC +, were raised, the Kremlin reported.

In February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared about the desire of about 20 countries to join the BRICS and SCO. Saudi Arabia is also interested noted previously at the Foreign Ministry. Now the permanent members of the BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.