Negotiations are underway between Azerbaijan and the EU, Moscow, and Kyiv on supplying natural gas to Europe via Ukraine, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Sept. 6 at the Cernobbio Forum in Italy
Ukraine currently transits Russian gas to the EU as part of a deal signed in 2019, which is set to expire in December 2024.
Russia cut much of its pipeline gas transit to Europe in 2022, but countries like Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia remain heavily reliant on Russian imports.
The EU and Kyiv have said they would not seek an extension of the contract and would look for a different gas supplier. President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in an interview with Bloomberg on July 3 that Kyiv is in talks to transit Azeri gas to the EU.
"Russia, Ukraine, and European institutions have approached us in connection with the continuation of gas transit through the territory of Ukraine," Aliyev said in a speech. "For several months we have been making great efforts to come to a common denominator."
If gas transit through Ukraine stops, "the gas distribution system of Ukraine will be completely paralyzed," and several EU countries "will face serious difficulties," Aliyev added.
Nate Ostiller
Gas supplies from Azerbaijan would have to first transit through southern Russia before reaching Ukraine.
Azerbaijan already supplies gas to Italy through an alternative route, called the Southern Gas Corridor, which is a network of pipelines that stretches from the Caspian Sea through Turkey and into the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan is Italy's number one oil supplier and number two gas supplier, and currently supplies gas to six other EU countries.
Baku is also in the process of negotiating gas supplies with at least three more European states, he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal with Aliyev in Baku in July 2022 to bring imports of Azeri natural gas to "at least" 20 billion cubic meters annually by 2027.
Kateryna Hodunova
