Sergei Kupriyanov said Gazprom asked Georgia to stipulate the amount of gas it needs, and to then sign a corresponding contract, adding that otherwise gas that could have been bought by Georgia would be sold elsewhere.
He said Gazprom wants to know exactly how much gas Georgia will need to buy in light of recent statements that it intends to buy gas in Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries rather than in Russia.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in mid-November that his country will not buy Russian natural gas at $230 per 1,000 cubic meters because it is not a fair market price at a time when some of Georgia's neighbors are paying $65 and $110 per 1,000 cubic meters in real terms.
The president said the price was politically motivated and that the move amounts to an economic blockade of Georgia, which now buys all its gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Tbilisi previously bought gas from Iran under a temporary agreement following explosions in January 2006 on trunk pipelines in Georgia, which caused a suspension in gas deliveries from the country's sole supplier, Russia.
Georgian energy security was dealt a further blow earlier in November when Russia said it might cut off gas supplies to its South Caucasus neighbor if it fails to agree to a substantial price rise for 2007.
