Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced his country’s readiness to increase natural gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, following the expiration of the current contract with Russia at the end of this year.

Azerbaijan is holding talks with both Ukraine and the European Union, as well as with Russia, Aliyev explained during a conference held in the city of Shusha, stressing that there is a common desire from all parties to continue gas flows. We will help if we can, and we believe that it is possible to extend this deal, he added.

Countries such as Austria and Slovakia will face a “serious problem” if Russian gas supplies through Ukraine are interrupted, as they will be forced to pay exorbitant sums to purchase gas from other sources, Aliyev pointed out, noting that Azerbaijan is keen to avoid any false accusations of re-exporting Russian gas as happened in the past.

Aliyev stressed that his country plans to increase gas production through new and existing projects in the Caspian Sea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed earlier this month that his country is in talks to send natural gas from Azerbaijan to the European Union as part of its plans to maintain its role as an energy transit country and support the energy security of its western neighbors.

European countries have been striving to diversify their energy sources away from Russia since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, but some European countries still depend on Russian gas that arrives through pipelines that pass through Ukraine.

The current agreement regulating transit operations expires at the end of 2024, and as the war continues, many analysts expect Russian gas flows to stop.