RIYADH, October 23. /TASS/. Russia is not yet ready to say whether it will freeze oil production or merely will cut its output, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said on Sunday after talks with his Saudi counterpart, Khalid al-Falih.

He said Russia is still negotiating acceptable oil output level with OPEC.

In his words, production freeze is a matter of a short-term period whereas global energy market stability and energy market security require strategic cooperation.

The Russian minister also said he is confident the current talks on oil production regulation will yield positive results.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the World Energy Congress in Turkey’s Istanbul on October 11 that Russia is ready to join the production freeze or output cuts to maintain the market stability. He said it would help speed up the market balance recovery.