Norway will not join Russia, Iran and Qatar in a forum of gas-exporting states that has raised fears of a new OPEC-style cartel, the Norwegian ambassador in Moscow said Thursday.
"We will not enter such an organization. I think it is not really for us," ambassador Oyvind Nordsletten told Echo of Moscow radio station.
Iran, Qatar and Russia - the three countries with the world's largest gas reserves - agreed Tuesday to set up a "troika" of gas exporters but stopped short of calling for an OPEC-style cartel.
Norway is the world's third-largest exporter of gas after Russia and Canada, and officials in the European Union have expressed hope that the Scandinavian country will help prevent the bloc from being overly dependent on Russian gas.