Azerbaijan president confident in Ukraine gas route talks By Reuters

CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) – Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence on Friday in the outcome of talks between Russia and Ukraine that his country facilitates maintaining the flow of Russian gas through Ukraine to several European nations.

Aliyev addressed the TEHA Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, which brings together businessmen and policymakers on the shores of Lake Como every September to discuss geopolitical and economic prospects.

The European Union and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate talks with Russia on a gas transit deal due to expire at the end of this year.

While the EU has cut most of its Russian gas imports, some Central European countries still depend on gas from Russia via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine. Austria still receives most of its gas via this route.

“We just want to support those countries and also Ukraine, because if the transit stops, the gas distribution system in Ukraine will be absolutely paralyzed,” Aliyev said.

The president of Azerbaijan, who met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Thursday, said he has “some optimism” about the latest talks between Russia and Ukraine.

“We think there is some ground for discovery, but it’s probably premature to go into a lot of detail,” he said.