October 2, 2003	Thursday	Sha’aban 5, 1424

LONDON: Closer cooperation between Opec powerhouse Saudi Arabia and main oil rival Russia will fortify producers’ efforts to hold up oil prices even though Moscow is a long way from actually curbing supply, analysts said.

Since a landmark Moscow visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah last month, non-Opec Russia has gone out of its way to reassure the Opec cartel that when it comes to wanting strong oil prices, the two nations are on the same side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on a New York visit last week surprised his US hosts by saying Russia could join Opec in curbing exports if crude prices come under undue pressure. Putin knows an oil price slide would wreak havoc with his country’s energy-heavy economy.

“As the world’s two biggest oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia ought to have lot of common ground, while US-Russian relations were strained by the war in Iraq,” said Julian Lee of London’s Centre for Global Energy Studies.

Putin’s comments came just two days after Opec’s shock decision to cut supply by 3.5 per cent even as demand for its fuel rises ahead of winter, a move that drew criticism from President Bush, worried about the impact on already shaky economic growth.—Reuters