CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) -Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Friday he was optimistic about a breakthrough in talks between Moscow and Kiev to allow Russian gas to flow to several European countries via Ukraine.
The European Union and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate talks with Russia on a gas transit deal that expires at the end of this year.
Aliyev said he had a “certain optimism” about the latest talks between Russia and Ukraine, adding: “We think there is a reason for a breakthrough, but it will probably be premature for me to comment on many details to go”.
The Azerbaijani president, who met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Thursday during his third visit to the country since 2020, addressed the TEHA forum in Cernobbio, Italy, where every September businessmen and policymakers meet to discuss the geopolitical and economic prospects to discuss.
Although the EU has cut most of its Russian gas imports, some central European countries, including Austria, are still dependent on gas from Russia via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine.
“We just want to support these countries and also Ukraine, because if transit stops, the Ukrainian gas distribution system will be absolutely paralyzed,” Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan plays an important role in the EU’s energy security, Aliyev said, adding that seven of the 10 countries that rely on the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline network for their gas supplies are members of the bloc.
“That is probably the reason why the European Commission calls Azerbaijan a pan-European gas supplier and also a reliable partner,” he said.
The Southern Gas Corridor network was built to diversify the EU’s energy supply by bringing it to Europe from the Caspian Sea. The network covers 3,500 km from Azerbaijan to Italy.
“With extensions and interconnectors, the pipeline covers a broad European and Eurasian geography with strong growth potential: because today we are in negotiations with at least three European countries regarding gas supply,” he said.
