Russia signals it will stay out of OPEC

LUANDA (Reuters) – Russia clearly sees itself as an observer and not a member of OPEC, President Dmitry Medvedev told the oil producer group’s current president on Friday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which accounts for around 40 percent of the world’s oil production, has repeatedly invited Russia to participate at its meetings in the hope that it would join or work with the group.

‘In regards to our interaction with OPEC our positions are clear. Angola is a member of OPEC, while Russia participates in OPEC as an observer,’ Medvedev said at a news conference alongside Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, whose country holds the rotating OPEC presidency.

Medvedev said the current ways in which oil prices were determined were too ‘complex and lacked transparency,’ adding that the oil market should not depend on one economy — a reference to the United States.

Reuters