Debate over energy security has resurfaced in Georgia after journalists from the Formula television channel discovered a classified annex to an agreement with Gazprom on a government website. The document, order No. 2212 signed by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, was posted on December 25 and remained online for about two weeks before being removed. The State Security Service said it had opened an investigation into alleged sabotage and unauthorized access.
The controversy concerns not only the leaked file but also Georgia’s gas import structure. According to Georgian statistics, in 2025 the country paid more for Russian gas than for Azerbaijani supplies for the first time in almost 20 years. Based on data from the energy regulator and Gazprom reports, the price was about $185 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Formula said the published contract listed an even higher figure.
Gazprom reported that supplies to Georgia in 2025 rose by 40.4% to 1.1 billion cubic meters. At the same time, according to Azerbaijan’s state statistics committee, gas exports to Georgia in the first 11 months of 2025 fell to 2.068 billion cubic meters, down from 2.968 billion a year earlier. For 2026, Georgia’s Economy Ministry forecasts imports of 400 million cubic meters from Russia and 2.926 billion from Azerbaijan.
Experts and opposition figures argue that growing purchases from Russia pose political and economic risks. The government says the policy reflects market diversification and that Russian gas is used only in the commercial sector. Another point of concern is that for the past two years Georgia has been receiving Azerbaijani gas not through the South Caucasus Pipeline but via the older Hajigabul-Kazakh-Saguramo line, whose worn condition, critics say, creates additional risks.