Attack by gasoline rate increase

02/12/2005 Yuri SIMONYAN

Last week Georgia celebrated the second anniversary of the revolution. But it was not so easy for them to do that because Russia increased the prices for gasoline (up to 110 dollars for 1000 cm). Last week oppositionist David Berdzenashvili (head of “Republican” party) spoke about dropping their membership from CIS countries, because CIS didn’t support Georgia in any way and in spite of that they prevented Georgia from integration in NATO and EU. Though this geopolitical approach was very vulnerable, anyway MPs agreed to discuss this issue. But there were some different views among MPs. For example leader of the parliamentary majority Maya Nadiradze said that they would discuss this issue, but they would agree only in case when the minority agreed with that suggestion. She said: “We bear much responsibility for this issue, that is why all of us must be responsible for the results”. As well as Nino Burdjanadze said that discussing the issue doesn’t mean yet that they would start the process soon. In a couple of minutes head of the parliamentary group on international affairs K. Gabashvili said in the name of majority: “CIS is a collapsed institution, we can’t save it. But dropping membership will only cause problems for Georgia. I don’t mean only energy, it will also make the Abkhazian conflict regulation more difficult, because here Russia plays a key role”.

Politician Paata Zakareishvili thinks that it is a long time that there is a need to discuss this issue and that they must do this quietly and not to prevent other countries. “If our president always says that our country is already sustainable as an independent country, we must prove this and pay world prices for energy. On the other hand it is not polite for Georgia to stay in this institution. Because Georgia doesn’t give them anything, but takes cheap energy”, -said the politician to our correspondent.

The executive power didn’t react to this development rapidly. They didn’t do this in Georgia, but in Russia. Prime minister of Georgia Zurab Noghaidelii took part in the meeting of CIS countries prime ministers and announced that Georgia was not going to leave this institution: “Now we have more important things to do”. But it seems to me that his announcement was late. Noghaidelii had a meeting with “Gazprom” company officials and couldn’t make them change their minds and not to increase the prices for gasoline. The idea to compensate the increase difference with the sum that Georgia may get from increasing the prices for gasoline import in Armenia through their territory doesn’t seem to be good to them, because this may cause difficulties in the region and change the regional balance. As for importing gasoline from Kazakhstan, they don’t even want to discuss this issue, because they will have to import gasoline through the territory of Russia and they have already announced that the prices for importing gas through their territory would be increased. Anyway in both cases the price will be the same. Georgian officials do their best to keep their positions in the region. Recently Noghaidelii announced: “The economy of our country will not suffer from gasoline rate increase, people will not feel this difference either”.