Russia has threatened the Azerbaijani leadership that it will raise to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters the price it charges Azerbaijan for gas if Baku goes ahead with exports to Turkey at the lower price of $120 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas from the Shah-Deniz field, the websites echo-az.com and thenewanatolian.com reported on November 21. In response to that threat, Baku has proposed to Botas, the state-owned Turkish pipeline company, postponing for one year the start of gas exports to Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pipeline. That postponement would negatively affect Georgia, which for months has sought to reduce its dependency on Russian gas supplies by reaching an agreement with Azerbaijan on increasing the amount of Shah Deniz gas it either receives in lieu of transit tariffs or may purchase at a preferential price. (RFE/RL)