Saakashvili: Georgia will not Pay ‘Political Price’ for Gas
President Saakashvili said on November 14 that Georgia will not buy Russian gas for USD 230 per 1 000 cubic meters, the most recent offer made by Gazprom.
“First let me make it very clear. We will not pay USD 230 because this is not a commercial price – when at this moment some of our neighbors are paying USD 65 in real terms, some of the others are paying USD 110, USD 130,” Reuters reported quoting Saakashvili as saying at a news conference in Strasbourg, where the Georgian leader addressed EU parliamentarians earlier on Tuesday.
“It is not tragic at all and I think we can find a way to get around this political price,” he added.
Chief of Gazprom’s export arm Alexander Medvedev warned on November 7 that the Russian energy giant will stop gas delivery to Georgia from January 1, 2007 if Tbilisi refuses to sign a deal on the purchase of gas for USD 230.
President Saakashvili said that Georgia will resist Russia’s “blackmail” through the diversification of its energy supplies and reduction of gas consumption.
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