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a lie, said the president of the republic, Ilham Aliyev. The head of state cited one example, when Baku, against the backdrop of affordable prices for Russian gas, "contracted" 1bn cubic meters of gas. According to him, it was a "purely commercial" deal. "And, as I said, we export 25bn cubic meters and import only 1bn cubic meters. So the accusations that we are some kind of channel for the export of Russian gas are absolutely unfair. It was an absolute lie," Aliyev said at the Second Shusha Global Media Forum on the topic of "Exposing False Narratives: Fighting Disinformation." The new large Absheron field will produce 1.5bn cubic meters of gas this year, and in the coming years this volume may grow to 5bn, the president added. The European market is growing and another one will soon join the eight countries in supply, he added.
Azerbaijan could export gas through Ukraine after Russia deal expires. Ukraine and the EU have approached Azerbaijan to discuss supplying natural gas to Europe via Ukraine once an existing contract with Russia expires at the end of 2024, President Ilham Aliyev said, Bloomberg reported.
Ukraine's sanctions on Russia's Lukoil may result in fuel crisis in Hungary. The restrictions have created supply shortages in Budapest, which depends on Russia for 70% of its oil supply, with Lukoil providing half of that volume, according to Politico.
Fifty Russian tankers are stuck in ports due to sanctions. From the Baltic Sea to the Pacific shores, dozens of Russian tankers used to transport oil are now floating empty. The stoppage of these ships proves that the West has leverage that can disrupt the transportation of Russian oil. Almost all 53 vessels sanctioned since October 2023 have been unable to load any cargo.
On the other, Russia’s losses are relatively small. According to S&P, the current Russian “gray fleet” amounts to some 591 vessels – up a third from last year. Thus, less than 7% of the fleet is currently dry-docked due to Western sanctions. Successfully disabling tankers in this way is a big win for those in the West who support strong measures against Russia’s shadow fleet. However, we’re unlikely to see a sudden flurry of more such sanctions. According to The New York Times, the White House is anxious about triggering gasoline price rises ahead of the US presidential elections.
The FAS proposed reinstating the ban on gasoline exports from August, and relevant Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak supported this proposal this week, Kommersant learned. In fact, the ban, introduced from March to August 31, has not been canceled - the government simply suspended it from May 20 until the end of June, and then July. The FAS believes that there is no need to renew the export permit in order to “saturate the domestic market during a period of increased demand, including due to field work and planned refinery repairs, as well as to ensure price stability and availability of fuel for all categories of consumers.” The purpose of the ban was initially precisely to contain prices in the face of a physical reduction in gasoline production due to
184 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com