The biennial Ministerial-level meetings are representative of all sides and cover issues of growing depth and complexity, reinforcing interlinkages in an increasingly interdependent energy world.

Nobody really understands what is going on, " Kiselyov says. "People inside the Kremlin, even at ministerial level, don't understand how decisions are taken at the upper level, at the highest level.

The agreement reached last year anticipates a formal ministerial level conference and McCormack said such a meeting will still be held, and that the Singapore discussion is not a substitute for it.