Energy Minister on Talks with Gazprom Export

Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said that no agreement was made at his meeting with Russia’s Gazprom Export executives in Vienna on December 13.

Kaladze said that, just like a year before, Gazprom executives insisted on monetization of the gas transit fee from Russian exports to Armenia via Georgia. Kaladze added that the offer is “unacceptable” for the Georgian side.

Georgia rejected the terms offered by Gazprom last year and following lengthy negotiations an agreement was signed in April, under which Georgia maintained existing transit terms – 10% of gas transported through Georgia.

“We usually sign a transit agreement on an annual basis,” Energy Minister Kaladze told reporters on Thursday. “They raised the issue of monetization of transit fee again, but their proposal is unacceptable for us. We have our own considerations.”

The Energy Ministry refrained from unveiling the details. Neither did it provide any information about Kaladze’s meeting with the executives of Russia’s state-controlled energy holding Inter RAO in Minsk on December 14.