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 government since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985." The charges of piracy were dropped in October 2013. In November 2013, twenty-seven of the campaigners were released on bail. Greenpeace has not staged a protest at Prirazlomnaya oil platform since, instead choosing to protest against Western drilling operations due to those countries being considerably more tolerant of their activities. In May 2014, the first shipment of Arctic oil arrived at a refinery in the Netherlands and was purchased by the French company, Total. Gazprom Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom (, "Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Gazprom", abbreviated PAO Gazprom, , )