For the last several weeks, political life in Tbilisi has been largely dominated by ongoing negotiations between the governments of Russia and Georgia regarding Russian natural gas giant Gazprom’s large-scale return to the Georgian market. The news of these negotiations first broke on September 26, when Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Georgian Energy Minister Kaha Kaladze (who also serves as a deputy prime minister) met in Brussels (Gazprom.ru, Pirveliradio.ge, September 26).
The Georgian government first tried to deny the news as Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and some cabinet members issued convoluted and contradictory statements (Timer.ge, Newposts.ge, October 13). Eventually, however, …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation