Zelensky considers the gas deal with Putin’s NATO allies a blow to Russia

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky may get lucky as a new gas deal between European buyers and Azerbaijan It is reported that work is currently underway to ensure that Ukraine remains part of the transport route, but excludes Russia as a supplier.

Hungarian and Slovak companies are working on a commercial agreement with Azerbaijan to create a new deal that would allow natural gas transit to continue on the continent after the current agreement between Russia and Ukraine expires. Bloomberg reported.

As President of Russia Vladimir Putin maintains close relations with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, this new agreement, replacing Russian gas supplies, will effectively stop fuel exports from Russia to Europe.

Newsweek emailed the foreign ministries of Ukraine, Russia and Azerbaijan for comment.

Both Fico and Orban demonstrated their support for Putinas Fico repeatedly stated that Ukraine could not win the war against Russia, and Orban insisted on blocking European funding going to help Ukraine in January.

The current agreement between Russia and Ukraine lasts for five years, and in the context of the war between the two countries, Europe began to look for other sources of gas.

The current transit agreement expires at the end of the year, and efforts to hammer out an agreement with Azerbaijan that would allow it to replace Russia as the new supplier have been in the works for months.

The contract for the supply of 12-14 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Azerbaijan will use the same route that transports Russian gas through Ukraine to the European continent.

Bloomberg reported that the contract would have to include a clause allowing for a so-called “swap agreement” between Moscow and Azerbaijan because the country, located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, does not have enough export capacity to meet current supplies.

Slovak state buyer SPP said previous reports that the deal was close to completion were incorrect.

The company told Reuters: “We regularly discuss this topic with our partners, but information about the upcoming conclusion of a gas supply contract with the participation of SES is not true.”

Despite discussions of a new agreement and the current war, Russia has reportedly said it is ready to continue supplying gas to Europe and transporting it through Ukraine. However, Kyiv refused to negotiate with Moscow.

Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday about the deal in the works and said: “How events will develop further, how supplies will be ensured, given the fact that Ukraine has already announced its refusal to extend this agreement, now I can.” I won’t say anything.”

Slovakia, Austria and Hungary are among the European countries that, despite the war, continue to import gas from Russia.

Advice European Union reported that the share of Russian gas imports into the European Union fell from 40 percent in 2021 to eight percent last year.

Moreover, the European Council reported that Russian exports account for less than 15 percent of European gas imports, including pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas.

According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, revenues from Russia’s oil and gas industry account for 20 percent of GDP annually and between 30 and 50 percent of total federal budget revenues over the past 10 years.