Georgia is looking to diversify gas supplies after Russia, the country's only gas supplier, said it would double the price from $110 to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said November 14 his country would not pay the price, which he described as "politically motivated."
After a meeting with the Azerbaijani leader, Zurab Nogaideli said: "A trilateral meeting will take place December 6-8, which will establish volumes of Azerbaijan's gas supplies to Georgia and gas distribution from the Shakh-Deniz field" on the Caspian.
Azerbaijan's industry and energy minister assured the Georgian prime minister that his country would help its neighbor overcome a possible gas crisis.
A Georgian energy official said November 2 that his country was in talks with a consortium, which was developing the Shakh-Deniz field in Azerbaijan, to ensure alternative gas deliveries. He also Tbilisi was also in talks with Iran over gas supplies.
Tbilisi previously bought gas from the Islamic republic under a temporary agreement following explosions in January 2006 on trunk pipelines in Georgia, which caused a suspension in gas supplies from Russia.
"We are working on extra gas supplies from other sources, and are technically ready to receive gas from any direction," David Ingorokva, president of the Georgian International Gas Corporation, said.
Georgia and Russia have been entangled in a diplomatic feud since the arrest of four Russian officers on spying charges in September. Tensions were already strained at the time over the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and over Russia's import ban on Georgian wine and mineral water.
Moscow has also cut off transport and mail links to its mountainous ex-Soviet neighbor, cracked down on businesses allegedly related to the Georgian mafia, and deported hundreds of Georgians accused of residing in Russia illegally.
