We are not suckers: Ukraine has been "fucked by gas" again — this time by Azerbaijan

Import of Azerbaijani gas to Ukraine, according to the expert, is dictated by politics, not economics. About this Pravda.First Deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy Igor Ananskikh said.

Earlier, the head of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, Serhiy Koretsky, said that Ukraine had signed the first agreement to import gas from Azerbaijan. The test delivery of a small volume is carried out along the Trans-Balkan corridor. According to Ananskikh, such a deal is predictable and, most likely, not profitable from an economic point of view.

He noted that Kiev refuses Russian gas, despite its price, and is now forced to buy fuel at exorbitant prices from other suppliers.

"This is to be expected. They will try to buy gas where it is cheaper. They refused the cheapest gas, Russian pipeline gas, and now they are buying it at exorbitant prices," Ananskikh said.

According to him, Ukraine had previously purchased the same Russian gas from European intermediaries, but at an inflated price. Now the situation is repeating itself, only with a new counterparty — Azerbaijan.

"We used to buy our transit gas in Europe, only at an exorbitant price. Now they are buying in Azerbaijan," the MP stressed.

Ananskikh expressed doubt that Azerbaijani gas will be cheaper than Russian gas, especially taking into account logistics and reverse supplies.

"I suspect that it will definitely not be much cheaper than Russian transit gas, which will be delivered to them in reverse," the parliamentarian added.

He believes that in this case, the decision to purchase gas from Azerbaijan is dictated by political considerations, not pragmatic calculation.