Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow, June 2006

Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom says it is seeking to more than double the gas price for neighboring Georgia, amid a simmering political crisis between the two sides.

Gazprom officials said Thursday that it plans to charge Tbilisi $230 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, up from $110 now.

The announcement comes after Georgia's Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili held talks in Moscow Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - the first high-level meeting between the countries since tensions increased over alleged spying.

Georgia arrested four Russian military officers on suspicion of spying in September, releasing them a few days later. Moscow retaliated by cutting all transportation and postal links with Georgia.

Tensions between the two countries were already high because of the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the two breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.