Azerbaijan upbeat on Russian gas transit to EU via Ukraine
SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, July 20 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan is in talks with Moscow about maintaining Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday, adding that the shipments might continue when the current contract ends.
A five-year deal on Russian gas transit to Europe between Moscow and Kyiv expires after Dec. 31 2024, and Aliyev reiterated that the European Union and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to help facilitate the deal.
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"The (transit) contract extension is possible," Aliyev told reporters.
"We will try to help," he said, without giving further details.
Ukraine, fighting Russia's invasion since February 2022, has said it will not extend a contract under which close to 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas are sent to Europe each year. That compares to the 150 billion bcm of piped gas that flowed through the country in 2022.
However, Ukraine has said it might continue the transit under certain provisions and with the participation of EU companies.
While the EU has cut most of its Russian gas imports, some central European countries still depend on gas from Russia via a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. Austria still receives most of its gas through this route.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin;Editing by Helen Popper)