(IRNA) - Gerogian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli said Monday that his country was seeking to diversify energy supplies and looks to Iran as a potential source of energy.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels Tuesday evening, Noghaideli recalled that during the January energy crisis, Georgia for the first time received gas supplies from Iran, reports Trend.
"If need be, we will do it again," stressed the Georgian premier, who is on a three-day working visit in Brussels for talks with NATO and EU officials to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Iran supplied Georgia with natural gas for over a month after two explosions on January 22 severed gas and electricity supplies from Russia, the country's sole natural gas supplier.
Later, speaking to IRNA, Noghaideli described relations between Georgia and Iran as "good."
He said joining the EU was a top priority of Georgia, but did not give any timing for membership.
Noghaideli met NATO officials Tuesday for an "intensive dialogue," and is scheduled to hold talks with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana on Wednesday (today).
The press conference was followed by Noghaideli's lecture on "Democracy and Stability in the Black Sea Region: The Role of Georgia," organized by Belgium's Royal Institute for International Relations.