Ukraine Discussing Gas Transit from Azerbaijan to EU: Zelenskiy

Ukraine is discussing the transit of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the EU to maintain its role as a transit country and help EU energy security, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said cited by Bloomberg.

• The replacement of Russian gas with Azeri supplies is “one of the proposals” currently being discussed, Zelenskiy said.
• European officials are in talks with counterparts in Ukraine on how to keep gas flowing next year after the expiry of the existing Russia transit agreement at year end.
• Some central European countries continue to receive gas supplies through pipelines transiting Ukraine, with around 15bcm a year, mainly to Slovakia and Austria.
• “Alternative steps are being considered now on how we can use the pipeline with another gas supplier, another country. Negotiations are under way,” Zelenskiy said. “We don’t want to extend the gas contract with the Russian Federation. We don’t want them making money here.”
• Azerbaijan has said it wants to boost its gas exports to Europe but hasn’t secured enough long-term deals to invest in further production.
• Unused pipelines could become targets of military attacks or fall into disrepair. Russa has already targeted Ukraine’s gas storage infrastructure this year.