The energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key members of OPEC+, have said the organization should not get involved in politics, Reuters reports.

Asked if OPEC+ has a moral responsibility for kicking out Russia, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said politics is left at the door during OPEC meetings.

"If we don't do that we would not have dealt with so many countries at different times. It could have been with Iraq at one point, it could have been with Iran at one point."

OPEC+ is under increasing pressure to increase oil production after Russia, the largest producer in the OPEC+ group, launched a special operation into Ukraine on February 24, and Western countries responded with sanctions that limited Russian oil exports.

Both Prince Abdulaziz and UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said the focus was on balancing crude oil markets and satisfying consumers.

"We have one mission and only one mission which is stabilizing the market. So we cannot be politicizing, or bringing politics to the organization having that debate ... our aim is to calm the market," said Mazrouei.

"If we are asking anyone to leave, then we are raising the prices, then we are doing something that is against what consumers want."

Prince Abdulaziz said that Russia produces about 10% of the oil consumed in the world.

OPEC+ is likely to stick to plans for a modest increase in oil production in May, several sources said.

If the security of oil supplies is threatened, the global economy will suffer. That security is now a priority, and some countries are forgetting the availability of energy, Mazrouei said, adding that while the United States is a "very important partner for all of us," the group needed to be pragmatic.

"We need their understanding that what we’re doing is to the benefit of the consumers, to the benefit of the United States and to the benefit of the consumers worldwide."