Energy policy of Russia and in a few cases explicit political demands are evident. Starting 1 January 2007 Gazprom increased the price of natural gas to Azerbaijan from US$110 to $235 per thousand cubic metres. (At the time, Gazprom charged the EU US$250.) Azerbaijan refused to pay this price and the gas supply to Azerbaijan stopped. On its side, Azerbaijan stopped oil exports to and via Russia. A year earlier, pro-Russian Armenia was hit with the same 100% price increase as Western-oriented Georgia, Vladimir Socor has observed. The Russia-Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices
Gazprom Armenia Gazprom Armenia Gazprom Armenia (), formerly known as ArmRosGazprom (; ), is a subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom company in Armenia. It was founded in 1997 as a joint Russian-Armenian natural gas pipeline project. When it was founded, the Russian state gas monopolist Gazprom owned 45% of stock, the Energy Ministry of Armenia 45% and the ITERA company 10%. In 2014, Gazprom became the sole owner of the company and renamed it Gazprom Armenia. Director General of the company is Karen Karapetyan. The company operates the gas supply for Armenia's domestic gas market as also power generation. In April 2006,