Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says his country will support any initiative to stabilize the oil market after recent talks in Qatar failed to freeze production, according to Press TV.

Zangeneh told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his South African counterpart in Tehran that the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Doha was a “good step.”

“Despite failing to have a result, the start of the negotiation was good for OPEC and non-OPEC to cooperate and for big OPEC producers to accept that they have to do something to change the situation,” he was quoted by Payvand as saying.

OPEC, Russia, and Mexico failed to come up with any decision after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in an output freeze despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices, as Reuters reported.

Zangeneh said despite the collapse of the Doha agreement, oil prices did not extend their losses.

Additionally, in a meeting with South African Energy Minister, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Zangeneh discussed oil and energy cooperation, between the two countries, including resumption of crude exports.
Iran supplied 40% of South Africa’s oil imports before sanctions brought them to zero, Zangeneh said.

“We are currently seeking to open this closed path and there are negotiations underway which we hope will bear result,” he added.