OSAKA — Russia has agreed with Saudi Arabia to extend by six to nine months a deal with OPEC on reducing oil output, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin, speaking after talks with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, told a news conference the deal — which is currently due to expire on Sunday — would be extended in its current form and with the same volumes.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, meet on July 1-2 to discuss the deal that involves curbing oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

"We will support the extension, both Russia and Saudi Arabia. As far as the length of the extension is concerned, we have yet to decide whether it will be six or nine months. Maybe it will be nine months," said Putin, who met the Crown Prince on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Japan.

A nine-month extension would mean the deal runs out in March 2020.

Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of Russian Direct Investment Fund, said the pact in place since 2017 has already lifted Russian budget revenues by more than 7 trillion roubles ($110 billion).

"The strategic partnership within OPEC+ has led to the stabilization of oil markets and allows both to reduce and increase production depending on the market demand conditions, which contributes to the predictability and growth of investments in the industry," Dmitriev said.

Benchmark Brent has climbed more than 25 percent since the start of the 2019.

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he believed most OPEC members have already expressed support to extend the output-cutting deal.

He said it may be wise to extend the agreement by nine rather than six months to avoid raising output during weak seasonal demand.

"It might make sense to keep the deal in place during the winter period," he told reporters. — Reuters