Georgia Expects To Sign New Gas Transit Agreement With Gazprom In 2 Weeks - Minister

TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2019) Georgian expect to complete talks with Gazprom Export on the new agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Armenia in two weeks, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kobulia said Saturday.

"The negotiation process is underway, and before its completion, the terms of the previous agreement are valid. We are talking about a significant improvement in the terms of the contract. We think that the negotiations will be completed in two weeks, and we will report everything that will not be confidential," Kobulia told reporters.

The minister recalled that the two-year term of the previous agreement had expired on December 31.

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze earlier said that the country would continue to perform its transit function, transporting Russian natural gas to Armenia.

The main supplier of gas to Georgia is Azerbaijan. Until January 2017, Georgia received 10 percent of Russian gas for its transit to Armenia. According to the latest agreement between Georgia and Gazprom Export, in 2017 gas transit to Armenia was paid by a mixed system, partly in cash and partly in raw materials, and in 2018 it was cash-paid exclusively.