Azerbaijan continues to strengthen its position as a major supplier of natural gas to Europe. Slovakia may be the next country to replace Russian gas with Azerbaijani gas. According to Economy Minister Denisa Sakova, Bratislava expects to purchase approximately 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Baku starting in 2027.

Sakova made this announcement during an official visit to the Azerbaijani city of Shusha.

"We are talking about supplies of approximately 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year after 2027. This will allow us to stop purchasing Russian gas," the minister said.

According to her, Azerbaijan has already concluded long-term gas supply agreements with several EU countries and remains a key alternative fuel supplier for the European market.

The minister also noted that Azerbaijan consumes approximately half of its gas domestically and exports the rest. Slovakia expects not only to purchase Azerbaijani gas but also to develop long-term economic cooperation with Baku, offering its technologies and industrial expertise.

Since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the European Union has been consistently reducing its dependence on Russian energy. One of the main beneficiaries of this policy has been Azerbaijan, which has significantly expanded its presence in the European energy market in recent years.

According to SOCAR, Azerbaijan exported 25.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2025. Of this, 12.8 billion cubic meters went to European countries, 9.6 billion to Turkey, 2.3 billion to Georgia, and 0.5 billion to Syria.

In January 2026, Azerbaijan began commercial gas supplies to Germany and Austria. Since then, the number of countries importing Azerbaijani gas has reached 16, including ten European Union member states. Currently, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and several other countries receive gas from Azerbaijan. If the agreement with Slovakia is implemented, this list will expand.

Supplies are carried out via the Southern Gas Corridor, which connects the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). In July 2022, Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a memorandum of strategic partnership in energy, envisaging an increase in Azerbaijani gas exports to the EU to 20 billion cubic meters per year by 2027.

Experts note that fulfilling these plans will require both increased production at Azerbaijani fields and an expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor's capacity.

At the same time, expanding energy cooperation is significantly affecting political relations between Brussels and Baku. Despite ongoing criticism of Azerbaijan from international human rights organizations and European institutions for its persecution of the opposition, restrictions on freedom of speech, and other human rights violations, energy security issues have increasingly come to the forefront since the onset of the energy crisis in Europe. Against this backdrop, criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities by their European partners has become significantly less harsh than before, which human rights activists often attribute to the EU's growing interest in alternative gas supplies.