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OPEC Meeting Could End Oil Tug-of-War Between Russia, Saudi Arabia

Edward Yeranian

   CAIRO - Russia and Saudi Arabia meetwith other countriesThursday on
   cutting oil production while they continue a price war that has
   drivendownU.S.gasolineand oilprices.

   Thetalks could calm pricesthat declined in the wake of the coronavirus
   pandemic.

   Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Russiantelevisionseveral
   days ago that the coronavirus crisis is one of the principal causes of
   what he called the "unprecedented fall of world oil prices." This,
   hemaintained, "affects the economic interests of the major world
   nations, including Russia."

   In a roundtable discussion broadcast on Russiantelevision, President
   Vladimir Putin suggested that his aim in the current tug-of-war with
   Saudi Arabia and other major producers, including the United States,
   was "to cut world production by around 10 million barrels, give or
   take."

   U.S.President Donald Trumphas tried tobroker a solutionbetween Russia
   and Saudi Arabia, which have eachincreasedproduction to try and
   intimidate the other. Trump saidSunday that he might consider using
   tariffs to halt the slide of domestic U.S.oil prices.

   "Tariffs are a way of evening the score. Tariffs are a way of just
   neutralizing. They have tariffs onusand we can now put tariffs on them.
   Am I using it for oil? It's something we can (do). Am I doing it now?
   No," Trump said.

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