Moscow is trying to create a joint project with Azerbaijan to prevent the loss of the EU market.

The idea is that Azerbaijan, which needs more gas to supply to the EU, will receive gas from Russia to sell to the EU. “Of course, the Russians will not give their contracts to SOCAR, but acting on behalf of Gazprom to fulfill the agency agreement is being discussed,” said Leonid Unigovskyi, Director General at Naftogazbudinformatyka. If the EU and Ukraine approve Azerbaijan gas supplies to Europe, then Russia will have the opportunity to simultaneously work on the prospect of expanding supplies through other channels, in particular, through the TANAP, Turkish, and Trans-Adriatic flows. “That is, the goal may not be the preservation of transit through Ukraine, but the current fulfillment of contracts and parallel work on the expansion of gas supply routes to Europe in the future,” the expert noted. He assumes that the Russian Federation considers Azerbaijan in a broader strategic way, particularly regarding a new gas supply route to Iran and further through the territorial waters of Azerbaijan.