20 February 2016, 05:34 GMT
KRASNOYARSK (Sputnik) – There will be no legal binding document to freeze oil production and the agreement being discussed is of a voluntary basis, Russian Deputy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said Saturday.
"The agreement on freezing the level of extracting oil carries a voluntary character…There may be some sort of joint statement, but no legal binding agreement," Yanovsky told journalists.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003, mostly because of prolonged global oversupply and weak demand.
On Tuesday, the energy ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar met in Doha. The four countries agreed to keep their average monthly oil output throughout 2016 at January levels if other major oil producers also did so. According to Venezuela's minister, the agreement was later supported by Ecuador, Algeria, Nigeria, Oman and Kuwait.
