Last update: February 10, 2025 13:49

Newsroom logo

Ukraine Offers to Transport Azerbaijani Gas to Europe Amid Energy Crisis

By Vusala Abbasova January 30, 2025

None

The announcement comes in the wake of a recent halt in Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, prompting complaints from Slovakia and Hungary – two countries that had continued to rely heavily on Russian gas despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. / Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine is ready to help transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe amid an energy crisis worsened by Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who visited Ukraine last week, Zelensky emphasized Azerbaijan’s significant gas export capacity – up to 25 billion cubic meters – and noted that Ukraine’s existing infrastructure could be used for transportation. However, he made it clear that Russian gas would not be part of the deal.

Zelensky revealed that he had discussed the potential arrangement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during a recent meeting.

“He has a very large production today – about 40 billion cubic meters. He uses about 14-15 billion. He has a large export capacity. The export capacity is 25 billion cubic meters. We can use our infrastructure if countries in Europe need gas, but not Russian gas,” Zelensky said on Saturday.

The announcement comes in the wake of a recent halt in Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, prompting complaints from Slovakia and Hungary – two countries that had continued to rely heavily on Russian gas despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Zelensky and Sandu also agreed to work on “urgent and concrete solutions” to address the energy crisis in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria, which is backed by Russia. Moscow recently cut off gas supplies to the region via Ukraine.

“We will not let the Russians profit,” Zelensky said. “But will we let the Azerbaijanis earn? With pleasure. Will we help the Slovaks? With pleasure. This is what we can do quickly. We can sign a contract and quickly set it up when we hear signals from people in [Transnistria’s de facto capital] Tiraspol, Slovakia, and other countries in Europe,” he added.

This development comes as a critical transit agreement allowing Russia to export gas to the European Union through Ukrainian pipelines expired at the end of 2024. Six months before the deal ended, a senior Azerbaijani official confirmed that the country was in talks to potentially take over the contract.

The European Union and Ukraine had asked Azerbaijan to facilitate discussions with Russia about a gas transit deal. Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR had been mediating in negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian energy companies for almost a year, at the request of Ukraine and the European Union. However, Moscow and Kyiv have failed to agree on a deal brokered by Azerbaijan to continue Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine.