ARMENIAN LAWMAKER INSISTS ON COMPENSATION FOR RUSSIAN GAS PRICE HIKE

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 5:55 PM EET

YEREVAN, April 4 (Prime-Tass) – Armenia insists on being compensated
for the gas price hikes of Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom,
speaker of Armenia’s parliament Artur Bagdasaryan told a news
conference Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reported.

Negotiations on gas tariffs should be based “on the logics of the
Armenian-Russian strategic partnership,” Bagdasaryan said. Any
decision, aimed at softening the aftermath of the natural gas price
hike, is acceptable, he added.

Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom increased its prices for gas
supplies to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan to U.S. $110 per 1,000
cubic meters in 2006 from $56 in 2005.

Gazprom increased its gas price for other countries of the Commonwealth
of the Independent States (CIS) starting from 2006 bringing them
closer in line with its prices for European Union countries. Along with
Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, these countries include Ukraine and
Moldova. Gazprom has also announced its intention to raise its gas
price for Belarus, which has paid an unprecedented $46.68 per 1,000
cubic meters. European countries currently pay an average price of
$150 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.