Jeyhun Bayramov: Azerbaijan is ready to supply gas to Ukraine if necessary

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that Baku is ready to supply natural gas to Ukraine if necessary and is considering the possibility of using Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities to strengthen regional energy security.

As Report informs, Bayramov made the statement at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to him, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, has long been present on the Ukrainian market, continues to work actively in the country, and has large-scale plans for the further development of energy cooperation.

"At present, a very dynamic and active dialogue is underway regarding mutually beneficial additional areas of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine," the minister noted.

Bayramov emphasized that Azerbaijan plays a strategic role in ensuring Europe's energy security. In particular, the country supplies gas to 12 European countries, 10 of which are EU members. "From this point of view, we will be ready to supply gas to Ukraine as well, if such a need arises," he said.

The head of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry also noted that a promising area of cooperation could be the use of Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities to strengthen the energy security of the wider region.

"We see this as a very promising area of our future cooperation," Bayramov added.