Russia Threatens Georgia, Belarus with Natural Gas Cutoff

From the FT:

Russia is preparing to cut off natural gas supplies to neighbouring Belarus and Georgia unless the two former Soviet republics agree by the year-end to pay much higher prices in 2007.

Coming a year after Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, briefly cut gas to Ukraine in a similar pricing dispute, such a move could provoke further international criticism that Moscow is using energy as a political tool. It might also intensify pressure on Russia to ratify the European Energy Charter treaty, which would require such disagreements to be resolved through arbitration.

Gazprom has offered to hold off on price increases in exchange for gaining a stake in domestic natural gas supply networks.

Technorati tags: Energy, Electricity, Home Heating, Natural Gas, Oil, Russia, Electricity

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NEI Nuclear Notes

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