Thinktank report says Russia does not have "significant leverage" over Georgia through energy exports

Russia does not have "significant leverage" over Georgia to suspend energy supply or threaten the country for political gain, a report by World Experience for Georgia, an independent, nonprofit thinktank, says.

Released on Thursday, the report assesses the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Georgia's energy security in the short term.

• Energy Regulator Head: Georgia’s dependence on Russia "not very high"

The share of electricity imported from Russia to Georgia is small and does not exceed four percent of electricity consumption in recent years. Given that Georgia mainly consumes locally produced electricity (92 percent in 2021) and has cross-border connections with other neighbouring countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey), import dependence on Russia is not high risk," the report notes.

It also says 27.1 percent of Georgia’s oil product imports come from Russia according to data from 2020, concluding that in case of import delays, "the deficit can be offset [through imports from] other countries".

While making the conclusions, the report still concludes that Georgia needs gas storage and oil refinery infrastructure to prevent an increase of imports of Russian energy resources.