The Georgian parliament has approved the sale of a trunk gas pipeline which pumps Russian gas across Georgia to Armenia. eighty-eight members of parliament favoured the law, while five voted against the measure. Despite the law being passed by parliament, the Georgian opposition does not share the majority's enthusiasm for the sale which they say will be "an energy and economic threat to Georgia", RBK reports. Parliament members of the opposition suggest that instead Georgia should retain a 51 per cent stake in the pipeline and remain the pipeline operator.
The majority however, deemed the "Russian threat" exaggerated and passed the law. Another argument used in favor of the sale was the fact Tblisi believes "private companies are more effective in managing such sites than the government". The trunk pipeline was built in the 1970s. it has not been upgraded since 1980.
