Zelenskyy makes it clear: Ukraine won't pump Russian gas under guise of Azerbaijani gas

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukraine is not considering renewing the agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom on the transit of Russian gas to Europe. He has also made it clear that Kyiv will not agree to pump Russian gas disguised as Azerbaijani gas.

Source: Zelenskyy speaking to reporters in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy was asked if there was a possibility that Ukraine might change its mind and renew the transit agreement with Russian Gazprom, which is set to expire on 1 January 2025. He responded that this was out of the question.

"We're not going to extend the transit of Russian gas. We won't allow them to earn additional billions on our blood. And any country in the world that can get something cheap from Russia will eventually become dependent on Russia – the only question is whether it will be in a month or a year. That's their policy. Therefore, we will not transit Russian gas," Zelenskyy stressed.

He noted that he had discussed the issue with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, among others, and outlined Ukraine's position on the potential transit of gas to Europe, although he did not explicitly mention Azerbaijan.

"I clearly explained to him: [it's possible] if it's not Russian gas, but gas from another country... But we don't want to play a game where this other country receives gas from Russia and then transits it. This is the same as continuing to profit from this war and sending money to Russia," the president stressed. "If a European country wants to receive gas and not pay Russia until the war's end, we can consider it... But again, we will not allow Russia to make additional money from this war," Zelenskyy concluded.

Background:

• Media reports indicated that an option to maintain transit to Europe through the Ukrainian gas transmission system was being discussed, where European companies would buy gas from Azerbaijan while Ukraine would continue to use this infrastructure and receive income from it.
• This week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed in a conversation with his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico, that Kyiv rules out extending the transit agreement with Gazprom. However, he stated that Ukraine is not opposed to transporting gas through its gas transmission system, provided it does not come from Russia.
• The European Commission has previously emphasised that the gas Europe is already purchasing from Azerbaijan cannot technically be of Russian origin.

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