Lavrov is currently on a three-day Middle Eastern tour. The minister is in Oman following a visit to the United Arab Emirates. The agenda of the tour includes talks on the five-year Syrian crisis and the current energy market situation.
"We believe that at this stage what is important is to understand what is happening in the markets. The markets are influenced by too many factors and the old mechanisms are hardly going to work. I think this is our common understanding," Lavrov told journalists in English in Oman.
In recent weeks, officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members and non-OPEC oil producing states have spoken of a possible meeting to address declining oil prices, which have caused significant financial problems for some states. Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would participate in such a meeting should it take place.
Market prices for crude benchmarks dropped to a 12-year low in mid-January, sliding below the historic level of $30 per barrel before a small recovery after January 20. The drop in prices has been attributed to a prolonged global oversupply and low demand, as well as the unwillingness of OPEC countries to cut output out of fear of losing market share.
