U.S., Russia agree to oil market talks as Trump calls price war 'crazy' - Reuters

U.S., Russia agree to oil market talks as Trump calls price war 'crazy' - Reuters:

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call on Monday to have their top energy officials meet to discuss slumping global oil markets, the Kremlin said, as Trump called Russia’s price war with Saudi Arabia “crazy.”

The agreement marks a new twist in global oil diplomacy since a failed deal by OPEC producers and Russia to cut production mingled with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic to send oil prices into a historic tailspin. The falling prices have threatened higher-cost oil drillers in the United States and around the globe with bankruptcy.

“Opinions on the current state of global oil markets were exchanged. It was agreed there would be Russo-American consultations about this through the ministers of energy,” the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

The Kremlin did not say what exactly the ministers would discuss, but Moscow has previously signaled it would like to see more countries joining efforts to balance global oil markets. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.