RIYADH, June 1. /TASS/. The OPEC+ deal principles-based cooperation remains important and relevant for Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference following his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The issue of the influence of the sixth package of anti-Russia sanctions of the EU on oil prices was discussed during his discussions with colleagues from Arabian monarchies "solely as a confirmation of agreements" within the OPEC+ framework, Lavrov said. "The principles of cooperation on this basis remain important and relevant," he noted.
Earlier, the European Union agreed on the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, which contains a partial embargo on Russian oil imports. The ban on oil purchases will come into effect six months after the sanctions come into force, while the embargo of imports of oil products will go into effect after eight months. The embargo will impact tanker deliveries but won’t affect the Druzhba oil pipeline.
The agreement on crude production cuts between OPEC member states and 11 non-OPEC nations dubbed an OPEC+ alliance, was signed five years ago, on December 10, 2016, amid falling global energy prices. Back then the participants of the deal agreed to reduce total production by 1.758 mln barrels compared with output in October 2016.