Venezuela turns to Russia for help in organizing urgent OPEC meeting - minister

MEXICO CITY, January 22. /TASS/. Venezuelan authorities intend to organize an emergency meeting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and countries outside it and to this end have tuned to Russia, among others, for assistance, Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum and Mining Eulogio del Pino said on Thursday after a meeting with his Ecuadorian counterpart Carlos Pareja in Caracas. The Venezuelan minister said it was necessary to coordinate the actions to restore stability on the global hydrocarbons market. "The letter that I’ve sent to all OPEC member countries says that we plan to hold this meeting in February, as soon as possible," Del Pino is quoted by the Venezolana de Televisión TV channel. "For several months already we plan to initiate a dialogue between the countries producers and consumers to achieve the price equilibrium." According to the minister, it is equal to $60 a barrel. "I’ve talked to Russia’s Energy Minister (Alexander Novak) last week about the possibility of his attending the meeting with the participation of the countries (oil) producers that are not OPEC members," del Pino said. Against the backdrop of a sharp decline in oil prices on world markets, the protracted economic crisis in Venezuela has aggravated over the past two years. The discontent of the citizens over rampant crime, galloping inflation and shortages of food and essential commodities was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, led by President Nicolas Maduro and his supporters in the parliamentary elections in December 2015. According to the results of the voting, the political opponents of Chavistas (followers of the late President Hugo Chavez) have for the first time in 17 years won the majority of seats in the unicameral National Assembly. Read more