The EU believes that a series of energy agreements with COP29 host Azerbaijan will not create a back door for Russian gas to access the continent, the European Commission (EC) affirmed.
The Southern Gas Corridor - which supplies the EU market - is only connected to Azerbaijans gas fields and not to the wider Azerbaijan gas system. Therefore, the Southern Gas Corridor does not transport Russian gas to the EU," Tim McPhie, a spokesman for the European Commission on energy issues, 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 SOCAR energy company have also reached a series of agreements to "expand multifaceted strategic partnerships" between the two companies and strengthen the transport corridor between the two neighboring countries.
The latest analysis in June from Chatham House said that "Russian gas is being "laundered" through Azerbaijan and Turkey to meet Europe's growing demand."
President Aliyev has denied the accusation that Azerbaijan is re-exporting Russian gas to the EU, stressing that this is "fake news".
According to Politico, the European Commission does not rule out concerns that Azerbaijan is offsetting its gas exports to the EU by importing more Russian gas to meet domestic demand, which could 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.
What we have learned 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, McPhie said. Mr. McPhie said he would "have to check carefully where this information comes from" but stressed that the EU has "various sources for information".
The initial gas contract from the end of 2022 shows that 1 billion cubic meters of gas will be transported from Russia to Azerbaijan in the first quarter of 2023.
Last week, Azerbaijan's foreign policy chief, Hikmet Hajiyev, shared 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 clearly 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 re-evaluate the bloc's energy ties with Baku due to concerns that increased gas imports from Azerbaijan to the EU could lead to Baku increasing its imports of Russian gas. Azerbaijan summoned the head of the EU delegation to protest the resolution.
