The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 4 2005

Gas pipeline provokes disagreement
By M. Alkhazashvili

Georgia’s main gas pipeline has become a topic of much debate within
the government. The position of the late Prime-Minister Zurab Zhvania
and State Minister Kakha Bendukidze was that it is possible to sell
the gas pipeline to the Russian company Gazprom.

But some analysts think that this move would jeopardize the country’s
energy-security and amount to a betrayal of Georgia’s main ally, the
United States. Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze has also
expressed her strong opposition to the sale of the pipeline.

According to the Georgian Constitution, the main gas pipeline is a
strategic state asset and as such cannot be privatized. Upon becoming
Minister of Economic Development, however, Kakha Bendukidze stated
that economics does not recognize the idea of a ‘strategic object’
and therefore even the gas pipeline could be sold in return for
adequate compensation.

The only potential buyer of the main gas pipeline at the moment is
Gazprom. Buying the pipeline is a matter of strategic importance for
Russia. After the building of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, it will
be possible to export Iranian gas via Georgia to Europe. It is also
noteworthy that talks are underway about the possibility of importing
gas from Iran to Georgia. This Iranian gas would provide competition
with the Azerbaijani gas being exported through the
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum pipeline.

When Prime-Minister Zhvania and other officials expressed their
support for selling the pipeline to Gazprom, Burjanadze immediately
came out against the move. “I am categorically against gas pipeline
privatization, especially selling it to Russia. I have already said
this to the government and I cannot understand why we have to sell it
to Russia. I am pretty sure that I will have the opportunity to
negotiate with the president over this issue and present my arguments
to him. I am convinced that the president will not permit that
Baku-Erzrum and Baku-Ceyhan to be endangered,” said Burjanadze, as
quoted by the newspaper Rezonansi.

Zhvania affirmed that the gas pipeline issue will not be resolved
without Parliament, though he expressed surprise that “this gas
pipeline is being discussed as a sacred object like Svetitskhoveli
[Georgian orthodox church in Mtskheta] and the Khakhuli icon.”

The statements by Zhvania and Burjanadze make it obvious that the gas
pipeline issue is a topic of heated discussion in the Georgian
administration. Some analysts think that the fate of this state asset
may reveal the country’s real foreign policy orientation.