President Makes New Appointments as Energy Minister Resigns

Georgian Energy Minister, Davit Mirtskhulava, resigned on August 12. On the same day, President Shevardnadze appointed Mirtskhulava to the post of chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

State Minister Avtandil Jorbenadze told reporters on August 12 that President Shevardnadze will nominate Deputy State Minister Mamuka Nikolaishvili for the post of Energy Minister.

Mamuka Nikolaishvili was appointed as Deputy State Minister last April and was responsible for energy issues. He is known to be a close friend of Paata Shevardnadze, son of President Shevardnadze.

The opposition parties have already protested the President’s nomination.

“Nikolaishvili, who is Paata Shevardnadze’s friend, is a desirable candidate for the President, because he would increase the Shevardnadze family’s influence over the energy sector of the country,” said MP Vano Merabishvili of the National Movement party on August 12.

Recently, the former Energy Minister, Davit Mirtskhulava, was criticized harshly by the opposition parties for signing an agreement with the Russian energy giant, Gazprom. The agreement negotiated strategic cooperation between Gazprom and the Georgian government as well as the entry of another Russian state-owned company, Unified Energy Systems, into Georgia.

During a a live broadcast on the television channel Rustavi 2 on August 12, Mamuka Nikolaishvili said that he supports cooperation with the Russian energy companies, adding that he does not “see anything wrong with the entry of Gazprom and UES into Georgia.”

He also said that cooperation with the United States in the energy sphere is also very important for Georgia. "The agreement with Gazprom poses no threat to implementation of the [US-backed] Shah-Deniz gas pipeline project," Nikolaishvili added.

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