Putin calls for global effort to stabilize energy market as coronavirus crushes demand

Energy markets in Russia elsewhere in the world have experienced some serious shocks in recent months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He called for a global effort to balance the energy market.

“These problems… go far beyond national borders,” Putin said on Wednesday at the meeting on energy market development. He explained that the Сovid-19 pandemic has had a crushing impact on the global economy and energy demand.

“It’s not the first time that the global energy market is so volatile. However, we’ve never witnessed a situation like this,” he added.

Russia will continue looking for ways to stabilize the energy market, the head of state said, pointing out that “joint efforts are needed, such as the recent OPEC+ agreement.”

“We will continue to build effective cooperation with foreign partners, reach agreements on balancing the energy market, search for solutions that will allow enterprises to implement long-term plans, invest in development and create new jobs,” he said.

According to Putin, energy is a key sector of the Russian economy. It is directly affecting the development of manufacturing, transport, agriculture, cities, villages and the country as a whole, as well as largely determining Russia’s export potential and the state of public finances.

Putin also highlighted the importance of maintaining domestic energy security. “Fuel shortage on the domestic market, limitations of power supplies to enterprises and country’s settlements must be prevented under any circumstances,” he said.

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