Protesters in Tbilisi demand to publish contract with "Gazprom"

The oppositional "United National Movement" (UNM) Party has organized a protest action in front of the government building in Tbilisi. Its participants demand from Georgian authorities to make the new contract with the "Gazprom" public.

This year, the Government of Georgia has agreed to the proposal of the "Gazprom" to monetize the transit of Russian gas to Armenia, though earlier the Georgian party refused from the monetary compensation. The contract on transit monetization bears no risks to Georgia's security, but clearly supports Russia's commercial interests; however, the reasons for this sudden concession are not disclosed, assert Georgian political analysts.

"The main reason why we have gathered today here is to remind the government about their obligations. They've undertaken to disclose all the agreements and the ongoing negotiations," the "Sputnik Georgia" quotes Vakhtang Beridze, one of protesters.

Giorgi Oniani, a member of the UNM, finds it unacceptable that "the society is unaware of how much money Georgia received for transit of a cubic meter of gas, under legislation of which country a dispute should be resolved in case it occurs; and when specifically the contract was signed."

Earlier, the Minister of Energy said that the Georgian party could not disclose the details of the contract; the consent of both parties is needed for that.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.