Moscow - A proposed cartel of the world's three major gas exporting nations - Russia, Iran and Qatar - should not be compared to OPEC, the organization of oil exporting nations, Russian officials said on Thursday.

Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky was speaking to reporters ahead of a Tuesday meeting in Moscow of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, who are aiming to enhance their cooperation.

Earlier this year Russia proclaimed the formation of a so-called "gas troika," within the forum, to represent the interests of the three big gas players.

However Yanovsky discouraged comparisons to OPEC, saying the forum should at best be called a "not-OPEC," and downplayed fears that the group would seek to influence prices, in the manner that OPEC currently does through its quota system.

The deputy chairman of Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, Alexander Medvedev, said the countries would discuss steps to formalize the forum including signing a charter and choosing a location for the organizations headquarters next year.

Medvedev said that it was misleading to compare the forum to OPEC.

In OPEC, "They use quotas for production to bolster prices, but that is not a possibility for us," Medvedev told journalists. "There is no sense in drawing an analogy between the forum of gas exporting countries and the oil OPEC."

The gas exporting forum has met since 2001, but has no formal secretariat or membership. (dpa)