Ukraine and Russia have failed to agree on an agreement mediated by Azerbaijan to continue Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a senior source in the Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR, UNN reported.
Details
The EU and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate discussions with Russia on the gas transit agreement, which expires at the end of this year.
A SOCAR source said that SOCAR has been mediating negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian energy companies for almost a year at the request of Ukraine and the EU.
The source said that the top managers met with high-ranking representatives of Ukrainian energy companies on May 2 in Istanbul and August 29 in Vienna, adding: "In the end, the Ukrainian and Russian sides failed to agree on terms.
SOCAR, Russian energy giant Gazprom, and Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz did not immediately respond to requests for official comment.
Addendum
Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia's invasion since February 2022, says it will not renew a contract that brings about 15 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday that Kyiv may consider continuing gas transit, but only if Moscow does not receive payment until the war is over.