Georgia’s president has accused Moscow of serious acts of “sabotage” after gas blasts on Russian pipelines cut off supplies to Georgia and Armenia. Mikhail Saakashvili stated that the near simultaneous attacks close to Georgia’s border were pre-planned actions orchestrated by Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry characterized Georgian President’s statements as “hysteria and bacchanalia.”
Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Saakashvili said there was now huge pressure on his country’s energy system, as it was experiencing its coldest weather in more than 20 years. He said all gas supplies to Georgia were now cut off as was 25% of the electricity supply. “We’ve received numerous threats by Russian politicians and officials at different levels to punish us for basically for not giving them pipelines,” the Georgian president said. “I think the world should wake up and react to such behavior. Yesterday it was Ukraine. Today it’s Georgia. Tomorrow it can touch any place Russia exports electricity and gas to,” Saakashvili said demanding Russia to restore the energy supply of his country.
Russian gas giant Gazprom said that an extra three million cubic meters of gas had been sent to Georgia via Azerbaijan. A company representative said repairs to the pipelines were being hampered by the fact that they were located in a remote mountainous area. Georgia is holding emergency talks on energy supplies with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The gas shortage led to long queues for gas canisters in Tbilisi and the temporary closure of schools. Some Georgians have been turning to alternative heating, such as kerosene and wood-burning stoves, as they struggle to cope with one of their coldest winters for years. Reports say it could take several days to restore gas supplies, due to the site’s remoteness and poor weather conditions, Russian media report.
