US Urges Transparency in Georgia’s Energy Deals
(Tbilisi, July 26, 2003, Civil Georgia) – US President’s Senior Adviser for Caspian Energy Issues Stephen Mann is surprised that Georgia and Russian energy giant GazProm signed an agreement on strategic cooperation secretly.
“I have read about it on the Russian company’s official web-site, which reported that the agreement was signed on July 1 in Moscow. Such agreements should always be transparent,” Stephen Mann said in the interview to the Rustavi 2 TV channel.
The agreement, which was signed between Georgian Energy Minister Davit Mirtskhulava and the GazProm chief exec!
utive Aleksei Miller on July 1 in Moscow, envisages supplying Georgia with gas; the Russian company is also ready to rehabilitate Georgia’s gas distribution system, as well as two trunk-line gas pipelines, one of which will be used for transportation of gas to Armenia and the other – to Turkey, via Adjara Autonomous Republic.
The talks with GazProm were launched in May during the visit of the GazProm chief executive to Georgia.
The US went against the deal, being afraid that this step might hinder the implementation of the Shah-Deniz project.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
