Russia plans to hold talks on an oil production freeze with major oil producing countries, and both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members and non-OPEC members, in Saint Petersburg in late March, Interfax agency reported Monday. The meeting's date is yet to be confirmed but is expected to take place "in the time range from March 20 to April 1," the Russian Oil Minister Alexander Novak announced.

Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of Azerbaijan's State Oil Company announced their interest in joining OPEC member countries in their decision to freeze oil production, Interfax agency reported Monday. Moreover, Ecuador, Algeria, Nigeria, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have also expressed a willingness to join this initiative, Moscow's Komsomolskaya Pravda [KP] reported Monday. Novak has recently visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Nigeria, Venezuela and Iran for talks to stabilize global oil prices. Along with Russia, the share of these five states comprises 32 percent of the world's oil output, the Russian Business Channel (RBK) noted citing sources from the Russian Energy Ministry on Thursday, March 3.

Novak informed Russian President Vladimir Putin at a forum of Russia's major oil companies last Thursday, that a total of up to fifteen oil producing countries, which produce 73 percent of the world's oil, were prepared to freeze their oil production, RBK reported.

On Thursday, TASS reported that the Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino also reiterated this expectation from both OPEC and non-OPEC members.