Georgia`s Prime Minister in U.S. for Talks on NATO, Russia Relations

Georgia’s Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Trade Representative Ambassador Susan C. Schwab in Washington DC Monday, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The meeting was conducted in the course of Nogaideli`s ten-day visit to the U.S. They have discussed a wide range of subjects including Georgia’s relations with Russia.

Nogaideli also plans to meet US Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday. He is believed to have an agenda ranging from promoting Georgia’s wine industry, to pressing its case for joining NATO and discussing its rocky relationship with Russia.

Georgia has been looking for alternative sources of natural gas since Russia imposed economic sanctions in response to Georgia’s detention of four purported Russian spies in September.

Russia’s state gas monopoly, Gazprom, has said it plans to charge Georgia 230 US dollars per one-thousand cubic metres of gas, compared with the 110 US dollars that it pays now.

The US has expressed uneasiness over the Georgian government’s stated plan to buy gas from Iran. Georgia has also been trying to negotiate with Azerbaijan.

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