UAE, Russia Discuss OPEC+, Stress Oil Price Cap Against 'Principles Of World Trade'

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone Wednesday about the OPEC+ cooperation, "in addition to a number of issues of regional and international interest."

The phone conversation came two months after the leaders met in St. Petersburg in October to discuss the UAE's policy of supporting peace and how to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

Sheikh Mohamed and Putin's Wednesday discussion centered on "friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them, in addition to a number of issues of regional and international interest," the National News reported, citing Emirates news agency, Wam.

One of the highlights of the discussion was the roadmap that OPEC+ should pursue, following the European Union's recent imposition of the $60 per barrel Russian gas price cap, which was approved by G7 members and Australia. During the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Putin stressed "the effectiveness of joint work within OPEC Plus to ensure the stability of the world oil market was highlighted. It was also noted with satisfaction that all Member States are consistently implementing the decisions they approved," the Kremlin said in a statement.

According to the world's seven richest democracies, the EU, and Canberra, the new barrel cap on Russian gas, which will take effect starting Feb. 5, 2023, will help reduce the revenue that Russia earns from its oil sales.

However, both Sheikh Mohamed and Putin referred to the situation as a downright contradiction of the principles of world trade.

"In this context the sides touched upon the situation concerning the attempts by some Western countries to impose anti-market restrictions on the price of Russian crude oil, which is contrary to the principles of world trade," the statement said.

They believe the move could bring damage to an OPEC+ waterline, which was in the process of decreasing the volume of crude oil production in the past few months. This has also led to the steady rise in global energy prices.

As Russia prepares for its forceful retaliation against the new measure, the country reiterated its alliance with the UAE. In the statement published by the Kremlin, following Sheikh Mohamed and Putin's phone conversation, Russia maintained that the Russian-Emirati relations remain "at a high level."

"It is important that, despite the difficult international situation, our countries continue to actively cooperate in policy, trade, investment, energy and other fields," another Kremlin statement said.

The country also referred to the "strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the United Arab Emirates for the prosperity of our friendly nations and for the sake of ensuring stability and security in the Middle East and North Africa."