On October 26th, 2022, Georgian language Facebook users (1, 2) shared a screenshot of an “Alt-Info” post about the cutoff of natural gas to Armenia by “Gazprom” with the caption – “The result of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Armenia.”
On October 27th, another Facebook user shared the same screenshot and linked the fact of the natural gas cutoff to the actions of Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
The information about the termination of the natural gas supply to Armenia by “Gazprom” is disseminated without context. On October 18th and 19th, the supply of natural gas to Armenia was stopped due to pre-planned works on the “North Caucasus-Transcaucasia” main gas pipeline and neither because of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Armenia nor the actions of Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
On October 18th and 19th, the supply of natural gas to Armenia was indeed interrupted, although the reason for the incident was neither the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, Nancy Pelosi, nor the politics of Nikol Pashinyan or his government. In fact, the natural gas supply to Armenia was stopped due to pre-planned maintenance and preventive works on the “North Caucasus-Transcaucasia” main gas pipeline.
Information about the planned works was disseminated both in the Armenian media (1,2,3) and on the official website of “Gazprom Armenia.”
According to “Gazprom Armenia”, the natural gas supply in the country was unrestricted for two days at the expense of internal reserves. And on October 19th, at 15:30 local time, the company resumed natural gas supply.
The article of Alt-Info, the screenshot of which was used in the posts, provides Gazprom’s statement in full, naming the planned maintenance and preventive works on the main gas pipeline as the reason for the interruption of the natural gas supply.
As for Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Armenia, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America visited Armenia on September 17-19th with a congressional delegation. The purpose of the visit was to meet with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, and other officials and to get information from them about the clashes that took place on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, in which more than 200 people lost their lives.
During the official visit, Pelosi expressed the support of the United States to Armenia and for a long-term solution to the Karabakh conflict.
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