"I don’t think we have a conspiracy here. However, sometimes it is said that Russia is losing oil ground it used to stand on. Anyway, I wouldn’t stand for any conspiracy theory in this situation," Lavrov said in an interview with the newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta.
According to the minister, the recent decline in oil prices was provoked by a wide range of factors.
"Would the US government invest billions of dollars in producing shale gas with all its environmental risks only to hurt Russia? In fact, the situation is neither positive for the US. After global prices dropped, most American shale oil fields became unprofitable," Lavrov said.
"The Chinese economy has slowed down a bit, and it took a negative effect, because for China, even one percent is significant. Saudi Arabia refuses to reduce oil production and export volume, despite the fact that its budget is already on the verge of deficit. It doesn’t want to reduce production because if the country quits the market it will lose it. Saudi Arabia doesn’t like such a scenario," Lavrov concluded.
