Azerbaijani gas cannot be piped to Europe via Ukraine when a key transit deal between Moscow and Kyiv expires this year, Russia's top energy official said Wednesday, denying that the idea was under discussion.
Moscow has been supplying gas to Europe through Ukrainian pipeline infrastructure under a 2019 deal that has generated income for both sides. However, Kyiv has stated that it will not renew the agreement when it expires at the end of 2024.
When asked whether Azerbaijani gas could replace Russian gas once the deal ends, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of energy, Alexander Novak, said this was "not under discussion."
"Firstly, there are no such proposals, and secondly, I do not think that the gas transport infrastructure is set up for this," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in July that using gas from Azerbaijan was one of the proposals being discussed, though he did not provide details.
Ukraine does not share a border with Azerbaijan, which implies that Azerbaijani gas would still need to be transported by pipeline through Russia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in late July that the European Union and Kyiv had approached him to facilitate discussions with Moscow to reach an agreement.
Since Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, Europe has drastically cut its gas imports from Russia, with EU leaders looking to Baku as a key energy partner.
Most transit routes for Moscow to export gas to Europe have been shut off or rendered unusable since the conflict began, including the now-defunct Nord Stream pipelines, which were blown up in September 2022.
However, Russia has still been able to supply gas to Europe via a single entry point in the border town of Sudzha, which was seized by Kyiv in a counteroffensive.
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