Georgia blames Russia for gas explosion
ISN SECURITY WATCH (23/01/06) – Officials in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, have blamed Russia for two explosions that seriously damaged a gas pipeline in Russia’s North Ossetia region, near the Georgian border, and could interrupt gas supplies to Georgia and Armenia for several weeks.
The two explosions, which struck the main gas line and a reserve line of the Mozkok-Tbilisi trunk line, occurred within 20 minutes of each other in the early hours of Sunday and were followed several hours later by a third explosion that damaged a transmission line supplying electrical power to Georgia.
Initial reports from Russia’s Interfax news agency indicated that the explosions were likely caused by a technical malfunction. However, it was later confirmed that explosive devices were used to blow up the two gas lines.
On Monday, gas supply to Georgia was partially restored via a pipeline from Azerbaijan, which takes its gas via a separate pipeline from Russia, according to CNN’s correspondent in Moscow.
Tbilisi was quick to lay the blame for the incident on Moscow. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told several international news agencies that the explosions were an act of “sabotage” by Russia, which is the primary supplier of gas and electricity to Georgia.
“[The blasts] happened at the same time, and basically they didn’t affect supplies to Russia proper, so we can conclude that it was a very well-organized and very well coordinated act,” Saakashvili told the BBC on Sunday.
Saakashvili also spoke of the “many threats” that the country had received from Russian politicians over Georgia’s refusal to sell its gas pipelines to Russia, and dismissed claims that this was an act of insurgency by an outside force, saying that the explosions occurred in “an area fully under Russian control […] with a heavy presence of Russian border guards”.
Other top officials in Tbilisi, including Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, have been quick to cite provocation by Russia as the motive behind the blasts.
“There is no reason for panic. Our enemies want to trigger panic, but we should not allow this to happen […] I am absolutely sure that these were not accidental [blasts]. It is impossible that these were accidental - there were simultaneous explosions at two gas pipelines and a power line. It is a deliberate provocation,” Burjanadze told reporters in Tbilisi on Sunday.
Georgian Interior Minister Merabishvili also described the incident as “a well planned series of sabotage acts against Georgia” and “one of the unique cases when one country carries out sabotage against another country in such a covert way”, referring to Russia.
Officials in Russia are maintaining that this was an act of sabotage against Russia and that the remarks being made by the authorities in Tbilisi were a product of “hysteria and Bacchanalia”.
“We believe this incident should not be politicized,” Gazprom Spokesperson Sergei Kuprianov told the BBC on Sunday.
While Russian officials say it could take only a matter of several days to repair the damage to the pipelines, officials in Tbilisi say Georgia could suffer from little or no gas for several weeks.
The incident has prompted Georgia, which admits to having only a one day reserve of gas, to seek emergency supplies from neighboring Azerbaijan. This gas shortage happens during one of the severest cold spells the region has experienced in nearly 20 years, with overnight temperatures in Tbilisi dipping to minus 14 degrees Celsius.
Teona Doliashvili, Spokesperson for the Georgian Energy Ministry, told ISN Security Watch on Monday that Azerbaijan was “supplying three million cubic meters of gas to Georgia at present - this is enough to supply Tbilisi with gas, one power generator, and ‘facilities of vital importance’”.
Doliashvili was unable to give an estimate on how long it would take to overcome the current gas shortage and acknowledged that the gas available outside of the capital city was expected to dry-up shortly.
Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri is expected to address the public on the current crisis upon his return from Iran on Tuesday. Gilauri is currently holding talks with the Iranian authorities about a potential import of Iranian gas to Georgia via Azerbaijan.
The explosions come at a difficult time for Georgia-Russia relations. Russian gas prices for both Armenia and Georgia were nearly doubled at the start of the New Year - from US$54 and US$60 per 1,000 cubic meters, respectively, to US$110.
Late on Sunday, demonstrators protesting against increased gas prices gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi, wielding signs depicting a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin - likening the leader to Adolf Hitler - and bearing the slogan “Gas-Putin”.
(By John Mackedon in Tbilisi)
The two explosions, which struck the main gas line and a reserve line of the Mozkok-Tbilisi trunk line, occurred within 20 minutes of each other in the early hours of Sunday and were followed several hours later by a third explosion that damaged a transmission line supplying electrical power to Georgia.
Initial reports from Russia’s Interfax news agency indicated that the explosions were likely caused by a technical malfunction. However, it was later confirmed that explosive devices were used to blow up the two gas lines.
On Monday, gas supply to Georgia was partially restored via a pipeline from Azerbaijan, which takes its gas via a separate pipeline from Russia, according to CNN’s correspondent in Moscow.
Tbilisi was quick to lay the blame for the incident on Moscow. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told several international news agencies that the explosions were an act of “sabotage” by Russia, which is the primary supplier of gas and electricity to Georgia.
“[The blasts] happened at the same time, and basically they didn’t affect supplies to Russia proper, so we can conclude that it was a very well-organized and very well coordinated act,” Saakashvili told the BBC on Sunday.
Saakashvili also spoke of the “many threats” that the country had received from Russian politicians over Georgia’s refusal to sell its gas pipelines to Russia, and dismissed claims that this was an act of insurgency by an outside force, saying that the explosions occurred in “an area fully under Russian control […] with a heavy presence of Russian border guards”.
Other top officials in Tbilisi, including Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, have been quick to cite provocation by Russia as the motive behind the blasts.
“There is no reason for panic. Our enemies want to trigger panic, but we should not allow this to happen […] I am absolutely sure that these were not accidental [blasts]. It is impossible that these were accidental - there were simultaneous explosions at two gas pipelines and a power line. It is a deliberate provocation,” Burjanadze told reporters in Tbilisi on Sunday.
Georgian Interior Minister Merabishvili also described the incident as “a well planned series of sabotage acts against Georgia” and “one of the unique cases when one country carries out sabotage against another country in such a covert way”, referring to Russia.
Officials in Russia are maintaining that this was an act of sabotage against Russia and that the remarks being made by the authorities in Tbilisi were a product of “hysteria and Bacchanalia”.
“We believe this incident should not be politicized,” Gazprom Spokesperson Sergei Kuprianov told the BBC on Sunday.
While Russian officials say it could take only a matter of several days to repair the damage to the pipelines, officials in Tbilisi say Georgia could suffer from little or no gas for several weeks.
The incident has prompted Georgia, which admits to having only a one day reserve of gas, to seek emergency supplies from neighboring Azerbaijan. This gas shortage happens during one of the severest cold spells the region has experienced in nearly 20 years, with overnight temperatures in Tbilisi dipping to minus 14 degrees Celsius.
Teona Doliashvili, Spokesperson for the Georgian Energy Ministry, told ISN Security Watch on Monday that Azerbaijan was “supplying three million cubic meters of gas to Georgia at present - this is enough to supply Tbilisi with gas, one power generator, and ‘facilities of vital importance’”.
Doliashvili was unable to give an estimate on how long it would take to overcome the current gas shortage and acknowledged that the gas available outside of the capital city was expected to dry-up shortly.
Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri is expected to address the public on the current crisis upon his return from Iran on Tuesday. Gilauri is currently holding talks with the Iranian authorities about a potential import of Iranian gas to Georgia via Azerbaijan.
The explosions come at a difficult time for Georgia-Russia relations. Russian gas prices for both Armenia and Georgia were nearly doubled at the start of the New Year - from US$54 and US$60 per 1,000 cubic meters, respectively, to US$110.
Late on Sunday, demonstrators protesting against increased gas prices gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi, wielding signs depicting a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin - likening the leader to Adolf Hitler - and bearing the slogan “Gas-Putin”.
(By John Mackedon in Tbilisi)
posted by Marko at 1/23/2006 09:33:00 AM
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