Moscow  - Russia said Wednesday it could start an oil reserve as part of an effort with OPEC countries to bolstered prices down by half since July peaks.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri met with President Dmitry Medvedev on a two-day visit to coordinate policy with Moscow Wednesday before an emergency session of oil-exporting countries in Vienna Friday to discuss stop-gap measures to halt plummeting prices.

"Cooperation with OPEC is a key area for our energy ministry and in forming our energy policy. It should be quite obvious why," Medvedev told journalist before the talks with al-Badri at his country residence outside Moscow.

"Russia is also a large crude producer and exporter and has an interest in steady and predictable prices," he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

OPEC officials have issued calls this week for Russia - the world's second-largest oil producer not a member of the organization - to join in cutting deliveries to world markets.

But ahead of the OPEC head's first-ever talks with a Kremlin leader, al-Badri said, "I will not ask Russia for production cuts. I will ask for data on markets and the financial crisis."

Igor Sechin, Russia's energy tsar and deputy prime minister, said earlier Wednesday oil reserves were being consider to influence pricing.

"Reserves are necessary in volumes large enough to reach efficient pricing parameters," he said, adding export duties on oil were also being discussed.

Analysts said previous attempts for Moscow to align its policy with OPEC fell through as private energy firms increased oil deliveries. They added it would be technically difficult for Russia to create reserves.

Moscow's strengthening ties with OPEC coming on top of news Tuesday that Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, Iran, Qatar had moved to set up an OPEC-style gas grouping is sure to worry Western consumers.

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) also in Moscow for the industry conference Wednesday warned against gas cuts predicting global shortages.

"Winter is the period of highest demand and now not is not the right time to cut production," IEA chief Nobuo Tanaka said. "The current market is very volatile. And for this reason we would like to see OPEC keep up their current extraction levels.

"In the mid- to long-term we expected there may be a supply crisis because of a greater demand from China, India and the Middle East," Tanaka added. (dpa)