Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said his country can be used as a hub to transport Azerbaijani gas to European markets, adding that a relevant deal could be singed quickly if an agreement was reached.
“We can use our infrastructure. We can sign a contract quickly if there is political will” to transit the Azerbaijani gas, Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on January 25 after meeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu to discuss a gas supply crisis in Ukraine’s neighbour.
Zelenskiy said he had discussed Azerbaijani gas transport with President 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," Zelenskiy said.
The Ukrainian leader stressed that Kyiv has never refused the possibility of taking Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
"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.
Ukraine stropped transit of Russian gas to Europe through its territory on January 1, after refusing to resume the energy deal that terminated in December 2024. Kyiv’s decision to halt Russian gas transport put Moldova in an energy crisis.
First talks about replacing Russian gas with Azerbaijani gas were held in October last year, however no agreement had been reached.
