The EU is confident that a series of energy deals with COP29 host Azerbaijan will not create a back door for Russian gas to access the continent, the European Commission (EC) has affirmed.
“The Southern Gas Corridor – which supplies the EU market – is only connected to Azerbaijani gas fields and not to the wider Azerbaijani gas system. Therefore, the Southern Gas Corridor does not transport Russian gas to the EU,” Tim McPhie, the European Commission’s energy spokesperson, told Politico.
In the EU's efforts to end its dependence on Russian gas, in 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a landmark deal with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to double the EU's gas imports from the South Caucasus country by 2027.
Since then, Russia's Gazprom and Azerbaijan's energy company SOCAR have also reached a series of agreements to "expand the multifaceted strategic partnership" between the two companies and strengthen the transport corridor between the two neighboring countries.
The latest analysis in June by Chatham House stated that "Russian gas is being 'laundered' through Azerbaijan and Türkiye to meet Europe's growing demand".
President Aliyev has dismissed allegations that Azerbaijan is re-exporting Russian gas to the EU, calling it “fake news”.
According to Politico, the European Commission does not rule out concerns that Azerbaijan is compensating for its gas exports to the EU by importing more Russian gas to meet domestic needs, and this is likely to still benefit Moscow.
In the first quarter of this year, about 7% of the EU's total pipeline gas imports came from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has sold about 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe this year alone.
“The information we have is that Azerbaijan has imported less than 1 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Russia for domestic consumption over the past two years,” Mr McPhie said. He said he would “have to check where this information comes from” but stressed that the EU had “a variety of sources from which to get information”.
The initial gas contract from late 2022 saw 1 billion cubic meters of gas shipped from Russia to Azerbaijan in the first quarter of 2023.
Last week, Azerbaijan's foreign policy chief Hikmet Hajiyev said that "in 2024, Azerbaijan will not import any gas from Russia. Azerbaijan's gas production is carried out in cooperation with international partners. The production and export volumes are visible to everyone."
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani media cited official figures showing that Azerbaijan imported 141.6 million cubic meters of gas from Russia this year.
In October this year, a European Parliament resolution called on the European Commission to review the bloc’s energy relationship with Baku, citing concerns that increased gas imports from Azerbaijan to the EU could lead to increased imports of Russian gas from Baku. Azerbaijan summoned the head of the EU delegation to protest the resolution.
