Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman "expressed readiness to expand fruitful coordination on world hydrocarbon markets" in a phone conversation they had on Wednesday, the Kremlin said in a statement. The statement did not offer any details on what that expanded coordination could entail. Russia and Saudi Arabia are major players in a global pact on cutting oil output. The two leaders also discussed Syria and defence sales, the statement said. It said the Saudi king had expressed his condolences to Putin regarding a plane crash at the weekend near Moscow that killed all 71 passengers and crew.
