Putin calls for ‘fairness’ for Iranian oil

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, said that Iranian oil should be able to return to its pre-section levels, though he bemoaned the current low market price for the commodity which also affects his own country.

Putin also stressed Russia’s friendly relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s main regional rival. He went on to explain that, while Saudi Arabia had dabbled with the possibility of a reduction of oil supply (a tactic that may have led to a boost in price, but may also have imperilled the Kingdom’s large market share), it was ‘fair’ for Iran to increase its production.

The Russian Premier, who has joined other world leaders at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in China, told a news conference:

As you know Saudi Arabia did not rule out the possibility of freezing outputs and discussions were ongoing for a long time on this issue. The issue there… is in Iran increasing its output, but in my opinion, and I have said about this before, Iran [was] bound by sanctions – it had a minimal output, and I think it would be fair if Iran reached its pre-sanctions levels,

Russia, which is also a major oil supplier, had been recently involved in talks with OPEC – a cartel of several major oil producing states, of which Iran is not a member – to reduce, or freeze, supplies. This implies that Russia would lose out if Iranian market share were to grow.

However, Russian-Iranian relations also revolve around their joint military and diplomatic support for embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad.