After OPEC’s de-facto leader and its largest producer Saudi Arabia canceled a meeting with non-OPEC producers including Russia on Monday, and reportedly revealed its negotiating position to the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Why Russia called on to Rouhani?

If the largest non-OPEC producer truly wants a deal done, then he is right to call Iran’s leader as the ball is actually in Iran’s court after Saudi Arabia revealed its position. According to a report from the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia is ready to cut production by 4.5 percent if other members join in and Iran freezes it production at the current level of 3.8 million barrels per day, below its pre-sanction level. Our calculations show that a deal is very much viable as other members excluding Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Libya would have to cut their production by less than 2 percent. So it is up to Iran, whether to accept the terms of the Saudi position or not.

According to a report from Kremlin, both the presidents have agreed to coordinate steps on the global hydrocarbon markets, including in the framework of the energy dialogue between Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

As of now, a deal looks very much likely, however, one must wait the actual terms and conditions.