Kremlin: No Plans To Convene High-Level Talks On OPEC+ Disagreements-Wires

Wires and social media reporting comments from the Kremlin stating that it is not intending to convene high-level negotiations involving President Vladimir Putin with other OPEC+ nations following the breakdown in talks yesterday.

• The Russian gov't is likely to be more closely aligned to that of the UAE, with both pushing for substantial production increases, than Saudi Arabia, which has advocated a more cautious increase in supply.
• As such, while remaining the most powerful single actor in OPEC+, Riyadh could find itself increasingly isolated at the political level with two of the other most powerful nations in the bloc potentially acting in tandem to achieve their desired output increased.
• The UAE has increasingly sought to step out of Saudi Arabia's shadow in the regional geopolitical sphere, having in 2020 become a key conduit between Israel and other GCC nations following the signing of the Abraham Accords. The UAE's continued increase in oil production capacity also gives its gov't more leverage in the OPEC+ talks, where it will be hoping for more muscular Russian backing going forward as it presses for supply hikes.