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Russia cuts off gas supplies to Armenia and Georgia

14 December 2009 08:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA-Economics. Russia has cut off gas supplies to Armenia and Georgia after a bomb was found planted on a key pipeline in the country’s southern volatile region.

The trunk pipeline running through Ingushetia was shut down late on Sunday after security forces found an explosive device planted nearby, Russian news agencies reported.

A spokeswoman for the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, which manages the transit of Russian gas to Armenia, said the shutdown had cut gas supplies to Armenia but that Georgia had not been affected.

However, Georgia was affected to some extent because it offtakes 10% of gas intended for Armenia as a transit tax.

"The gas supply to Georgia itself has not been affected as it receives gas from Azerbaijan," spokeswoman Tamara Shoshiashvili was quoted as saying by Interfax.
Armenia gets around two billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia through Georgian territory.
Gas supplies have been cut to customers in Russia’s North Ossetia and Ingushetia regions while sappers defuse the bomb, ITAR-TASS reported.