# Gas Exporters Led by Russia, Iran and Qatar Adopt a Moscow Declaration Rejecting Unilateral Sanctions

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) pledged to build crisis-response mechanisms and opposed the extraterritorial reach of national laws, on the same day Trump suggested that Venezuela, a forum member, become the 51st US state.

- Published: 2026-10-28T05:14:20.076Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-28/gas-exporters-led-by-russia-iran-and-qatar-adopt-a-moscow-de
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [IRNA (Farsi)](https://www.irna.ir/news/86305420/%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%BE%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B1%DA%98%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B3%DA%A9%D9%88-%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%87), [MercoPress](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/28/trump-suggests-venezuela-become-the-51st-us-state-and-elect-a-governor?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss), [BFM.ru](https://www.bfm.ru/news/622133), [Egypt Daily News](https://egyptdailynews.com/gas-exporting-nations-adopt-moscow-declaration/)

Leaders of the GECF adopted the Moscow Declaration at the close of the forum's eighth summit on Tuesday, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, [BFM.ru reported](https://www.bfm.ru/news/622133). Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo, Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Libya's Presidential Council chairman Mohamed al-Menfi attended in person, [Egypt Daily News reported](https://egyptdailynews.com/gas-exporting-nations-adopt-moscow-declaration/). Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, spoke by video.

Iran's state news agency presented the summit as a political alignment. [IRNA's Persian-language report](https://www.irna.ir/news/86305420/%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%BE%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B1%DA%98%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B3%DA%A9%D9%88-%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%87) ran under a headline that translates as "Iran's energy diplomacy at the Moscow station: a common voice against sanctions, tariffs and discrimination." The agency said the summit statement showed agreement against sanctions, tariff wars and discrimination in access to technology.

According to Russian coverage of the text by [Ura.news](https://ura.news/news/1053139533), members agreed to create mechanisms to respond to gas-market crises and to expand consultations on reliable supply. They expressed concern about events in the Middle East. They also rejected the extraterritorial application of national laws and unilateral coercive measures not authorized by the United Nations, language that covers US secondary sanctions. The text also calls for diversified trade routes, a "fair" gas price and less price volatility. Reports reviewed by this desk did not mention any commitment to settle gas trade in currencies other than the dollar.

US policy toward one member moved in the opposite direction on the same day. At a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, President Donald Trump suggested that Venezuela become the 51st US state and elect a governor instead of a president. He also announced the arrival of the first shipment of one million barrels of Venezuelan oil, [MercoPress reported](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/28/trump-suggests-venezuela-become-the-51st-us-state-and-elect-a-governor?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss).

## What this means

The forum's members are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Together they control a large share of the world's gas reserves. Since its founding in 2001, however, the forum has issued declarations without coordinating output or prices, so the text alone does not change supply. What is notable is that Qatar, which hosts the largest US air base in the region, endorsed language against US-style secondary sanctions next to Iran and Russia while Washington prepares a campaign against Iran. That exposes European and Asian buyers of liquefied natural gas to a supplier group that is aligning politically, though not yet commercially. The declaration's silence on currencies cuts against a strong reading of the desk's dedollarization thesis. Producers appear to be resisting the enforcement reach of the dollar system rather than abandoning it. The desk's read is that there will be no output coordination. Any practical effect will come through bilateral payment and shipping arrangements that avoid US jurisdiction, built over years rather than months. This read is wrong if forum members announce a joint pricing benchmark or a non-dollar settlement mechanism, which would turn rhetoric into market structure.

## What to watch

- Whether Qatar or the United Arab Emirates distance themselves from the declaration's sanctions language under US pressure ahead of a possible Iran campaign.
- Any follow-up on the promised crisis-response mechanism, which would show whether the forum intends to act on supply during a Gulf disruption.
- The handling of Venezuelan crude shipments to the United States, which shows how far Washington can pull a forum member into its own energy system.