Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made this statement during a press conference with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, as reported by a correspondent from RBK-Ukraine. This was also reported by Kontrakty.UA.
The Ukrainian president explained that he discussed the transit of Azerbaijani gas with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev.
"He has a very large production today - about 40 billion cubic meters. He uses around 14-15. His export capacity is significant, at 25 billion cubic meters. We can utilize our infrastructure if European countries need gas, rather than Russian gas," Zelensky stated.
According to him, Ukraine has never declined the opportunity to transit Azerbaijani gas through its territory.
"However, I mentioned that we will not transport Russian gas any further. We will not allow the Russians to profit. But allowing the Azerbaijanis to profit? Certainly. Helping the Slovaks? Absolutely. That’s what we can do swiftly. We can sign a contract and set things in motion quickly when we receive signals from people in Tiraspol, and from people in Slovakia, as well as from others in European countries," the president added.
It is worth noting that on January 1, 2025, Ukraine ceased the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Europe. This decision was made considering that the contract between Ukraine and Russia had expired. For more details, see RBK-Ukraine's article.
One of the main buyers of Russian gas in Europe is Slovakia. Its Prime Minister Robert Fico reacted painfully to Ukraine's refusal to continue the transit. Back in October last year, discussions were held about the possibility of replacing Russian transit with Azerbaijani gas. However, no contracts were finalized.
Nevertheless, in December, Zelensky stated at a press conference in Brussels that for the transit of Azerbaijani gas, it is necessary to ensure that Russia does not profit from it.