With hundreds of billions of dollars salted away in rainy-day funds, Russia is in many ways unusually well-positioned to withstand the impact of falling oil prices. But it has nonetheless been rattled by how fast and aggressively Saudi Arabia has responded to the breakdown of talks in Vienna
MOSCOW — It was always a marriage of convenience, whatever the pledges of devotion, but when Russia and Saudi Arabia parted ways late last week after a dispute over oil production, it was like a lot of breakups: instantly acrimonious.
Gone, it seems, are the days when two of the world’s strongest-willed leaders, Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, engaged in an unlikely courtship to prop up oil prices and extend their influence. Only six months ago, the Saudi energy minister called it an “until death do us part” union.
With oil prices plunging and Russian state television blaming Saudi Arabia for the collapse of the ruble, the kingdom on Tuesday signaled what seemed to be an escalation.
Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, said that on April 1 it would start providing customers with 12.3 million barrels a day. That is a 26% increase on its output before the deal with Russia collapsed.
And taking dead aim at Moscow, the kingdom offered steep discounts for April deliveries to customers in Europe, a direct strike against one of Russia’s primary markets.
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