Venezuelan leader calls for high compliance in oil cut

By Murat Temizer and Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW

A high level of compliance with OPEC and non-OPEC producers' oil output cut pact is very important and much needed, according to Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday.

Maduro spoke at the Russian Energy Week forum in the capital Moscow, where Anadolu Agency is a media partner.

He said the issue of extending the oil output cut deal "is the focus of discussion of OPEC and participating countries."

Hailing Venezuela, a founding member of OPEC, as fulfilling its obligations on international markets, he explained Venezuela has some oil production capacity to meet domestic demand, although this is not very high.

"Our domestic market is very big but we are trying to meet all the demand," he noted.

Maduro also availed of the opportunity to criticize media reports and information circulating about Venezuela showing anti-democratic behavior. "They say there is a dictatorship in Venezuela. If there is a dictatorship, there wouldn't be many elections or election campaigns," he said.

Venezuela will hold presidential elections at the end of 2018.

At least 125 people have been killed during Venezuelan protests as Maduro set up a legislative body that has seized power from the country’s Congress.

Maduro defends his actions by saying he took steps to stop a revolution that is dedicated to socialism in Latin America and allow U.S.-backed business elites to gain control of the oil-dependent country's oil assets, according to media reports.

The agenda of the Russian Energy Week forum is "energy for global growth". The topics up for discussion range from the global energy agenda, the main directions that the fuel and energy sector are taking, the existing challenges in the energy sector, and Russian prospects in the oil and gas sector.

Within the official program of the forum, about 50 business events will take place.