Russia denies talks on Azerbaijan gas transit via Ukraine

By AFP - Oct 09,2024 - Last updated at Oct 09,2024

MOSCOW — Azerbaijani gas cannot be piped to Europe via Ukraine when a key transit deal between Moscow and Kyiv expires this year, Russia's top energy official said Wednesday, denying the idea was under discussion.

Moscow has supplied gas to Europe via Ukrainian pipeline infrastructure under a 2019 deal that has generated income for both sides, but Kyiv says it will not renew the agreement when it expires at the end of 2024.

Asked whether Azerbaijani gas could replace Russian gas once the deal ends, Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of energy, Alexander Novak, said this was "not under discussion".

"Firstly, there are no such proposals, and secondly, I do not think that the gas transport infrastructure is set up for this," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July said using gas from Azerbaijan was one of the proposals being discussed, without giving details.

Ukraine does not share a border with Azerbaijan, which would imply that Azerbaijani gas would still have to be transported by pipeline via Russia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in late July that the EU and Kyiv had approached him to help discussions with Moscow to reach an agreement.

Europe has drastically cut its gas imports from Russia since Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, with EU leaders looking to Baku as a key energy partner.

Most transit routes for Moscow to export gas to Europe have been shut off or rendered unusable since the conflict began, including the now defunct Nord Stream pipelines that were blown up in September 2022.

But Russia has still been able to supply gas to Europe via a single entry point in the border town of Sudzha, which was seized by Kyiv in a counteroffensive.

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