President Says Gazprom Deal Bad for Georgia’s Politics & Economy

TBILISI – Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, believes that the new agreement reached with Russian energy giant Gazprom endangers Georgia’s energy independence and harms the country’s political and economic interests.

The president’s position was voiced by his press-speaker, Eka Mishveladze on January 17.

“The deal has worsened our energy sector, harming the country politically as well as economically and finally we have encountered different situation in different respects that may be followed by a whole set of problems in the future, Mishveladze said.

The press-speaker remembered the fact when the president emphasized the Gazprom issue in 2015 and requested a governmental session concerning the energy security issue. However, his request was not met.

The president believes the talks with Gazprom should be conducted transparently. 

“The president believes the Gazprom issue is far more than a business deal. It refers to security, foreign policy, geopolitics and only after – energy and economy,’ Mishveladze stressed.

She underlined that from the president’s point of view, the deal means that Georgia weakened its positions in the relationship with Russia.

The President calls on the parliament to strengthen supervision over the deal with Gazprom and provide future plan, how it will minimalize possible dangers and risks over the issue.

The new deal with Gazprom was reached on January 10, 2017 and it means that Georgia, as a transit country for the transportation of Russian gas to Armenia, will from 2018 receive payment from Gazprom.

Under the previous agreement, which expired on December 31, 2016, Russia has been paying Georgia for gas transportation by supplying natural gas to the amount of 10% of the volume of transported gas.

The Non-Governmental Organizations call on the authorities to disclose the agreement details and hold a special parliamentary hearing.

By Thea Morrison