Armenian parliament votes for establishing gas commission

The Armenian parliament passed a bill Wednesday to establish a temporary gas commission that will be in charge of gas supply policy, pricing and imports. The bill, which was passed 75 to three, with 30 abstaining, according to Armenpress news agency, was introduced by the ruling Republican Party after it had voted down a similar proposal by four opposition parties last week. Wednesday's bill was introduced after consultations initiated by the speaker of the parliament. Armenia buys gas from Russia, paying 270 U.S. dollars for 1,000 cubic meters at the border with Georgia, while the final price for consumers is 393 dollars -- one and half times higher. In the past two years, Armenia has accumulated 300 million dollars in debt to Russia for gas supplies. To pay the debt, Armenia gave away its 20 percent share of ArmRosGazprom to Russia, thus fully becoming dependent on the Russian oil giant Gazprom. ArmRosGazprom has been renamed Gazprom-Armenia.