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Oct. 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has assured in a meeting in Saint Petersburg with the president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed, that his actions within the framework of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, which together form the group known as OPEC +, are not headed “against anyone”.
Putin has transferred this Tuesday to the Emirati crown prince that from Moscow they seek to “create stability in world energy markets”, since “countries always respond to the needs of the market”, according to the TASS news agency.
OPEC + decided last week to adjust crude oil production down by 2 million barrels per day compared to the supply levels reached in August, a decision that the White House called “disappointing”, going so far as to ensure that the organization had “allied” with Russia.
On the other hand, the Russian president thanked Bin Zayed for the support of the United Arab Emirates to Russia in its “mediation efforts” to try to tackle “a series of quite delicate humanitarian issues” in the framework of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I am aware of your concern about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and all the events that are happening around it. I will tell you about this in detail,” Putin said, adding that their bilateral relations are “an important factor in maintaining the stability in the region.
Putin is scheduled to speak this Tuesday with the president of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine, to continue consultations on the line of implementing a protection zone around the center.
For his part, the Emirati president has reiterated the importance of “finding political solutions to the crises and tensions in the region, especially in the Ukrainian region, through “dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy”, according to the news agency WAM.
The conversation between Putin and Mohamed bin Zayed comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Doha in September, where the energy company RWE signed an agreement for a regular delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from this Gulf country to a terminal near Hamburg.
Another of the countries that have open talks with the United Arab Emirates to compensate for the lack of supply of Russian crude due to the sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine is France, whose Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, explained that the country “can be a solution, at least temporarily, to replace Russian oil and diesel.
