Ukraine is ready to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe, - Zelenskyy
Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (Vitaly Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has not refused the transit of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. However, it will not agree to restore the transit of Russian gas, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu.
As the Ukrainian president explained, he discussed the issue of Azerbaijani gas transit with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev.
"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," Zelenskyy said.
According to him, Ukraine has never refused the possibility of transiting Azerbaijani gas through its territory.
"But I said that we will not transport Russian gas any longer. We will not let the Russians profit. 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 Tiraspol, Slovakia, and other countries in Europe," the president added.
It is worth noting that on January 1, 2025, Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Europe. This decision was made due to the expiration of the agreement between Ukraine and Russia. For more details, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
One of the main buyers of Russian gas in Europe is Slovakia. Its Prime Minister, Robert Fico, reacted strongly to Ukraine's refusal to continue the transit. Talks had taken place in October last year about the possibility of replacing Russian transit with Azerbaijani gas, but no contracts were signed.
However, in December, Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Brussels that for Azerbaijani gas transit, there must be certainty that Russia will not profit from it.
