Politico reported that speaking at a press conference in Kiev on January 25 with Moldova's President Maia Sandu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that he had had a detailed discussion with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about the plan.
"Azerbaijan has the potential to export large amounts of gas, with a capacity of 25 billion cubic meters of gas. We can use our infrastructure if European countries need gas. But not Russian gas," President Zelensky said.
The statement comes as Slovakia and Hungary reacted strongly to Kiev's refusal to extend the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. The contract expired at the end of 2024, cutting off gas supplies from Russia to Central Europe via Ukraine.
"They (Russia) will not be able to profit from us anymore. But Azerbaijan? We are ready for them to benefit. We are also willing to help Slovakia and other countries in Europe. We can sign the contract immediately and implement it quickly," President Zelensky stressed.
However, many experts are skeptical about Azerbaijan's ability to meet enough gas demand for Europe. Azerbaijan is trying to position itself as an important energy partner for the EU, said Aura Sabadus, a gas market expert at ICIS. But in reality, they do not have enough output to meet the demand".
According to Sabadus, an agreement with Baku could involve a "change of sources" - meaning Russian gas is labelled as Azerbaijani gas, which could be controversial.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to deny the extension of EU sanctions against Russia if Ukraine does not restore Russian gas transit.
"If Ukraine wants to receive support, for example, to maintain Russian sanctions, it needs to reopen the gas pipeline and allow Central European countries, including Hungary, to import the gas we need through Ukraine," Mr. Orban said.
The issue of Russia-Azerban gas transit is expected to become the focus of the EU's high-level diplomatic meeting on January 27. Ukraine's decision not only increases tensions with allies such as Hungary and Slovakia but also puts Europe in a difficult situation in winter and energy supply becomes more unstable than ever.
