Russia is poised to hold a conference in Moscow and invited OPEC representatives to take part and discuss the procedure for setting oil prices, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said during a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev. Sechin indicated that Moscow would suggest a gradual transition to the new system of price formation, the Vesti TV channel reported Sechin as saying. He also noted that the problem of making oil reserves was becoming especially severe.
In turn, Medvedev stressed that Russia was interested in stable, predictable and fair oil prices. “We do not want extremely high prices that hurt the economic structure, and of course we do not want a significant drop in prices below their fair level,” he stated. With this in mind, OPEC and other countries will have to take steps to prevent any deepening of the crisis or further deterioration of the economic situation, Medvedev observed.