MOSCOW, April 29 - Russia intends to remain a member of OPEC+ despite the United Arab Emirates' recent decision to withdraw from the organisation, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, while signalling a desire for the producer alliance to persist amid turbulence in global energy markets.
The UAE announced on Tuesday that it would quit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a move that has exacerbated visible strains among Gulf states as an energy crisis linked to the Iran war continues to unfold. Within the OPEC+ framework, the UAE was the fourth-largest producer and Russia ranks second after Saudi Arabia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underscored the continuing importance of the OPEC+ format, particularly in the present environment of market volatility. "This format helps to substantially, let’s say, minimise fluctuations in energy markets and makes it possible to stabilise those markets," he said at a daily briefing.
Peskov added that Russia respected the UAE’s sovereign decision to withdraw and expressed hope that bilateral energy dialogue between Moscow and Abu Dhabi would continue. He also said Moscow had not received advance notice from the UAE about the plan to leave. "No, they did not warn us. This is a sovereign decision of the United Arab Emirates. We respect this decision," he was quoted as saying by the state RIA news agency.
Russia became part of OPEC+ in 2016. The grouping, composed of OPEC members and their allies, accounted for nearly half of the world’s oil and oil liquids production last year, according to International Energy Agency estimates.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov commented on the possible market implications of the UAE’s exit, warning that a lack of coordination among remaining producers could prompt some countries to ramp up output. "If OPEC countries conduct their policies in an uncoordinated manner (after the UAE’s exit) and produce as much oil as their production capacities allow and as much as they want, prices will go down accordingly," Siluanov said.
Siluanov noted that, for the moment, oil prices were being supported by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and he cautioned that any risk of oversupply would emerge only after the strait reopens.
The comments from Moscow reflect two parallel themes: an official commitment to remain in the OPEC+ framework and a clear concern about the potential for weaker coordination among major producers to create downward pressure on global oil prices if production increases materially. Russia’s stance indicates a preference for stable, coordinated supply management even as one of the group’s significant members departs.