Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are the beneficiaries.
A gas hub in Türkiye?
“Such a decision by Ukraine will seriously harm the interests of European consumers who still want to buy Russian gas,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“They will simply have to pay much more, which will make their industry less competitive,” he said, recalling that Moscow had begun discussions with Turkey to eventually create “a gas hub” there.
Azerbaijan as mediator
The contract between the Ukrainian companies Natfogaz and GTSOU with Gazprom was signed at the end of 2019 for a period of five years, until December 31, 2024.
In early July, Volodymyr Zelensky had indicated that his country was in discussions with Azerbaijan, a major producer of natural gas, to replace Russian gas transiting Ukraine to Europe with Azerbaijani gas. However, Ukraine does not share a border with Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani gas would still have to be transported by pipeline via Russia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev revealed in late July that the EU and kyiv had “approached” him to “facilitate” talks with Moscow and reach an agreement that would suit all parties.
No more Russian gas in 2027
In retaliation for the launch of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union said it wanted to free itself from all Russian natural gas by 2027.
To anticipate the drastic drop in its gas deliveries to Europe, Russia has turned to China.
Zelensky’s official announcement came as his army launched a major offensive in Russia’s Kursk region on August 6. kyiv said it had seized the town of Sudzha, home to a major gas measuring station, the only entry point for Russian gas into Ukraine’s pipeline network to Europe.