Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday expressed confidence in the outcome of talks between Russia and Ukraine that his country is facilitating to keep Russian gas flowing through Ukraine to several European nations.
CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday expressed confidence in the outcome of talks between Russia and Ukraine that his country is facilitating to keep Russian gas flowing through Ukraine to several European nations.
Aliyev addressed the TEHA Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, which every September gathers businessmen and policymakers on the shores of Lake Como to discuss the geopolitical and economic outlook.
The European Union and Ukraine have asked Azerbaijan to facilitate discussions with Russia regarding a gas transit deal that is set 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 crosses Ukraine. Austria still receives most of its gas through this route.
"We just want to support those countries and also Ukraine because if the transit stops Ukraine's gas distribution system will be absolutely paralysed," Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani president, who on Thursday met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, said he had a "certain optimism" on the latest discussions between Russia and Ukraine.
"We think that there is a ground for breakthrough but probably it will be premature for me to go into much detail," he said.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini and Giancarlo Navach; Writing by Valentina Za; Editing by Giulia Segreti and Alex Richardson)
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