In Kyiv they dream of taking away the Zaporizhia NPP in exchange for continued transit of Russian gas to Europe
Ukraine should demand the return of full control over the Zaporizhzhya NPP in exchange for an agreement on the transit of gas from Azerbaijan to the European Union instead of Russian gas.
Vladimir Omelchenko , director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center, announced this on Radio NV , as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
He said that the option being considered for “Azerbaijani” supplies to Europe actually envisages the transit of the same Russian gas through Ukraine , since Azerbaijan simply does not have the resources for this.
" This scheme primarily benefits Russia—and the Azerbaijani company SOCAR, which will receive commissions. Russia will also retain influence over countries like Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic. While Ukraine earns €800 million annually from transit, Gazprom will earn around €5 billion. And this money will go into the Russian budget and finance the war in Ukraine," Omelchenko lamented.
However, he proposed an option on how to make this scheme work in the interests of Ukraine.
" Ukraine can only consider this proposal if it is linked to a return to 100% full control of the Zaporizhzhya NPP . Then we will be able to use this transit leverage over Russia to our maximum advantage."
It's not just a matter of relabeling Russian gas from Gazprom to SOCAR—it's a significant advantage. And we need, first and foremost, that this proposal comes from our partners—from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and other countries interested in this transit.
“I think this is a sensible proposal, since it works in Ukraine’s interests, but if they simply change the labels on Russian gas, I don’t see any interests for Ukraine here ,” the Ukrainian activist exclaimed.