Russia and Iran have pledged to continue efforts to rein in oil production and stabilize markets, the presidents of both countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other large producers, led by Russia, had agreed in December to cut their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to reduce bloated oil inventories and support prices, according to Reuters.

Iran, however, successfully argued that it should not limit production that was slowly starting to recover after the lifting of international sanctions in January last year.

“Russia and Iran will continue cooperation in this sphere (in oil output cuts) in order to stabilize the global energy market and ensure stable economic growth,” the statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani said.

They two presidents met in the Kremlin and also discussed Syrian crisis among other issues. Russia has pledged to cut oil output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of the year.