Russian gas flows to Europe through Ukraine were shut off this month, leading to fierce complaints from Slovakia and Hungary, which were still receiving significant deliveries from Russia.
Zelenskyy made the comments during a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. During talks on Saturday, the pair agreed to “provide urgent and concrete solutions” to the energy crisis in Moldova’s Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, after Moscow shut off the flow of gas via Ukraine and has so far refused to use alternative routes.
“We will not let the Russians profit,” Zelenskyy said. “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 [Transnistrian capital] Tiraspol, Slovakia, and other countries in Europe,” the Ukrainian leader said.
But experts were doubtful Azerbaijan has the capacity to supply meaningful new volumes to Europe via Ukraine.
“Azerbaijan is trying to position itself as a major EU energy partner,” said Aura Sabadus, a gas markets expert at intelligence firm ICIS. “But they don’t have the production and, at the moment, they’re punching above their weight.”
According to Sabadus, any such deal with Baku was likely to involve a volume swap that saw Russian supplies rebranded as Azerbaijani.
