According to the British daily, a confidential study by NATO's economics committee warned Russia may be seeking to build a gas cartel including Algeria, Qatar, Libya, the countries of Central Asia, and perhaps Iran.
Dmitry Peskov, a deputy spokesman for the Kremlin, told the daily "there was no substance at all" to the suspicions.
The study concluded that creating what it called an "OPEC for gas" could strengthen Russia's leverage in dealings with Europe, particularly with neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine.
An alliance source told Reuters that the study represented the views of experts from national capitals rather than an official NATO view.
("Financial Times," Reuters)
