Moscow/Tbilisi  - Russian gas deliveries to Armenia broke off Friday when a pipeline ruptured in southern Georgia, Georgia's energy minister said.

"The gas pipeline has been damaged and the gas leak is significant so this morning we fully suspended gas transit to Armenia," Alexandre Khetaguri was quoted by local media as saying.

In a televised statement, he said it would take at least five days to complete repair work and resume supplies, adding Armenia should pull from its gas reserves.

Russia's Gazprom state gas monopoly voiced concern over the disruption in supplies and called for a quick normalization of the situation.

"It is not clear to us what happened there and why emergency work must take place during the height of winter," a spokesman for the company said Friday, news agency Interfax reported.

Russia and Georgia cutoff diplomatic ties since they fought a war in August over the post-Soviet states' separatist region of South Ossetia.

An independent military expert in Moscow said part of the pipeline in question passes through South Ossetia. Georgia receives 10 per cent of the gas pumped to Armenia via its pipeline as transit fees. (dpa)