Russia has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to increase natural gas suppliers for domestic consumption in that country, Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told Tass on Monday.
“There is an agreement with Azerbaijan to increase our supplies because they still have a gas deficit,” Novak said, who added that after the increase of natural gas production in Azerbaijan, it will be possible to discuss swaps with Baku.
Novak had earlier said that Russia was in talks with the representatives of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan about increasing natural gas supplies to those domestic markets, citing a growing demand for fuel in those countries.
If Novak’s claims of a shortage of gas supplies in Azerbaijan are correct, then a question arises as to how will Azerbaijan be able to more than triple Europe’s gas supplies in five years, as it was noted in an agreement signed by the European Union this summer.
In July, the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed Azerbaijan as a “crucial” and “reliable” energy supplier, as she announced an agreement with Baku to expand the southern gas corridor, the almost 2,200-mile pipeline bringing Caspian Sea gas to Europe.
With the Russian gas supplies to Europe under threat due to the Ukraine conflict, the EU is turning to other partners for gas imports.
Standing alongside Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev in July, Von der Leyen said the EU was diversifying away from Russia and turning “towards more reliable, trustworthy partners,” adding that she was glad to count Azerbaijan among them.
“You are indeed a crucial energy partner for us and you have always been reliable,” Von der Leyen told Aliyev at the time.
