Georgia faces big increase in Russia gas price
By Neil Buckley in Moscow
Published: November 3 2006 02:00 | Last updated: November 3 2006 02:00
Gazprom, Russia's natural gas company, yesterday threatened to double prices to neighbouring Georgia next year, stepping up economic pressure amid a tense dispute with the Caucasus republic.
Moscow insisted the move to increase prices from $110 per thousand cubic metres to $230 was commercial, part of state-controlled Gazprom's strategy of ending subsidies to former Soviet republics and moving towards market prices.
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Georgian officials called it politically motivated, but claimed the country could meet its gas needs from alternative suppliers should Gazprom not compromise on the price or cut supplies - as it did briefly to Ukraine in January.
The price demand was made public while Gela Bezhuashvili, Georgian foreign minister, was in Moscow for unsuccessful talks with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, aimed at easing the crisis between the two countries. Relations with Russia have deteriorated since Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia in the "Rose" revolution of 2003 and tilted his republic towards the west, seeking Nato membership.
Moscow last month severed transport and postal links after the republic arrested - but then handed back - four Russian military officers it accused of spying. Russian authorities have also closed Georgian businesses allegedly linked with organised crime and deported hundreds of Georgian illegal immigrants.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said yesterday the gas price demand was not connected with the recent tensions.
"This is one step in a series of negotiations with different countries on the way to bringing pricing towards international standards. Georgia isn't the only country. The same thing is happening with Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine," he said. "To talk about political pressure doesn't reflect reality."
Mr Bezhuashvili said the demand, not unexpected, contained a "large portion of politics". He admitted a gas cut-off was possible if a price could not be agreed on.
Separately, Russia's foreign ministry yesterday hit back at concerns voiced by the US that Germany could become too reliant on Russian gas by participating in a new pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The ministry said US opposition appeared motivated "not by worries about Europe's energy security, but the principle professed by certain American officials that good pipelines are those that skirt Russia".
俄罗斯对格鲁吉亚天然气供应价格明年翻倍
英国《金融时报》尼尔?巴克利(Neil Buckley)莫斯科报道
2006年11月3日 星期五
俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)昨日扬言，明年将把提供给邻国格鲁吉亚的天然气价格提高一倍，从而在两国的激烈冲突中，向这个高加索共和国施加了更大的经济压力。
俄罗斯天然气公布加价要求时，格鲁吉亚外交部长戈拉?毕儒雅什维利(Gela Bezhuashvili)正在莫斯科与俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖?拉夫罗夫(Sergei Lavrov)会晤，以缓和两国间的外交危机。
俄罗斯政府坚称，把天然气价格从每千立方米110美元提高到230美元属于商业行为，是国家控制的俄罗斯天然气公司战略的一部分，即停止向前苏联共和国提供补贴，向市场价格靠拢。
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格鲁吉亚官员认为这种做法有政治方面的动机。但他们宣称，如果俄罗斯天然气不肯在价格上妥协，或切断供应，格鲁吉亚能从阿塞拜疆或土耳其等其它供应商那里获得天然气，满足自己的需求。去年1月，俄罗斯天然气就曾短暂切断对乌克兰的供应。
自2003年米哈伊尔?萨卡什维利(Mikheil Saakashvili)通过“玫瑰革命”(Rose Revolution)掌握格鲁吉亚政权以来，格鲁吉亚与俄罗斯的关系便不断恶化。萨卡什维利领导的格鲁吉亚向西方倾斜，并谋求加入北约(Nato)。
