Russian energy minister Novak slips out of Opec talks on oil output cuts
Moscow — Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak will not attend an Opec meeting on Wednesday, but is ready to discuss co-operation with the oil cartel if it strikes an output deal, the RIA news agency reports. Opec oil ministers are meeting in Vienna at ministerial level on Wednesday in a bid to agree on production cuts to prop up prices that have halved since 2014. Russia is not an Opec member. Opec experts failed to agree on details of a cap on oil output when they met on Monday. "There is no point in this (going to Vienna on Wednesday). We need Opec to have their meeting (first)," RIA quoted Novak as saying. A spokeswoman for the Russian energy ministry said the timing of talks between Opec and non-Opec producers was being discussed. The oil ministers of Algeria and Venezuela tried in Moscow on Tuesday to persuade Novak that a cut rather than a freeze was needed in Russian oil output, which has hit post-Soviet highs in recent months. Reuters
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