Does Russia oppose the decision? OPEC supports the largest oil reduction since the 2008 crisis

OPEC ministers agreed today, Thursday, to reduce additional oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day until the end of the first half of this year, in the largest reduction since the global financial crisis 12 years ago.

This came at the conclusion of an extraordinary meeting at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, with the aim of facing the repercussions of the outbreak of the Corona Virus on the global demand for oil.

However, the organization stipulated that Russia and other countries outside it should join the agreement within the "OPEC Plus" coalition.

Saudi Arabia - the largest producer in OPEC - and other members of the organization find it difficult to persuade Russia to support the move.

Moscow still hints at its intention to support an extension of the cut, but it is not a new cut.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Noureddine Bouziane said that the agreement is not final, and that without Russia's agreement to the cut, the agreement may become null and void.

He added that the discussions between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Saudi counterpart were not easy, and were more difficult than expected, which means that Russia is still conservative about OPEC's proposal.

In the past, Moscow - which has been cooperating on production policy since 2016 as part of an informal group known as "OPEC Plus" - hesitated during the talks, but was participating in the last moments.

The alliance will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the proposal to reduce production, in addition to extending the current cut of 2.1 million barrels per day, which is due to expire at the end of this month.

It is expected that countries outside the organization will contribute 500,000 barrels per day of the new reduction.

Earlier, sources from OPEC indicated that the initial talks with Russia this week in Vienna are more difficult than before.

When asked what would happen if Russia refused to join the new cut tomorrow, an OPEC source said, "The worst scenario is (just) the extension."

In a sign that the bargaining is not over, Russian Finance Minister Anton Silyanov said that Moscow has not yet reached an agreement with OPEC, and it is ready for a possible decline in oil prices.