Oil production cuts agreed by the OPEC+ group will take time to kick in, the Kremlin said on Tuesday as it confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Putin will also host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow the following day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia cooperates with all three countries in the OPEC+ group of oil producers, which last week announced new voluntary supply cuts that were greeted with scepticism by the oil market because of doubts whether they would be implemented fully.

Oil prices fell 2% last week after the OPEC+ announcement, but Brent crude futures were firmer on Tuesday.

“There are certain processes of inertia in the oil market; it is very big and heavy. Therefore, sometimes the effect is delayed. Therefore, coordination will continue,” Peskov said.

Asked if Putin would discuss oil market cooperation on his Gulf trip, Peskov said: “These discussions are held within the OPEC+ format, but of course, cooperation in this area is always on the agenda.”

Separately, Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said Saudi-Russian cooperation within OPEC+ was “fruitful”.

“Fairly close Russian-Saudi coordination in this format is a reliable guarantee of maintaining a stable and predictable situation in the global oil market,” Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

The Kremlin later confirmed that Putin would hold talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, on cooperation within OPEC+.

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