Geghard Foundation: By capitalizing on the energy vulnerabilities of  certain European countries, Baku seeks to advance its political  agenda and narratives in Europe 

ArmInfo. By capitalizing on the energy vulnerabilities of certain European countries, Baku seeks to advance its political agenda and narratives in Europe through the strategic use of its energy resources". This is stated in a recent  analysis by the Geghard Scientific and Analytical Foundation, which  focuses on  Azerbaijan's energy policy.  According to the study, in  2024, Azerbaijan exported 25.2 billion cubic meters of gas, which is  5.8% more than the previous year. "Approximately, half of  this  amount, 12.9 bcm, was exported to Europe. In 2024, eight European  countries purchased gas from Baku: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,  Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Italy remains the largest  consumer of Azerbaijani gas in Europe," the authors of the analysis  note. 

Meanwhile, it is noted that since the beginning of the  Russian-Ukrainian war, the significance of Azerbaijan's energy  resources for Europe has grown, as alternative to Russian supplies.  In 2022, the European Union and Azerbaijan signed a strategic  cooperation document regarding gas supply.  "Over the past two years,  apart from relations with Turkey, Azerbaijan-Russia political  relations have also deepened. Numerous reports have been published  about Azerbaijan transiting Russian gas to Europe. In recent years,  Baku has been  strengthening its political ties with the countries  whom it supplies gas. In turn, these European countries are striving  to diversify their energy imports, including gas purchase from  Azerbaijan," the analysis notes.

At the same time, according to the analysis, judging by the visits of   Ilham Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials over the past 4-5 years,  one can gain insight of Baku's foreign policy priorities. "One of the  methods to strengthen political ties is the signing of strategic  partnership agreements. Currently, Azerbaijan has  strategic  partnership documents with nine EU member states, including Italy,  Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. In 2024, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary  and Romania signed an agreement to create infrastructure for  electricity supply to Eastern Europe via the Black Sea. Additionally,  in 2024,  Serbia began receiving Azerbaijani gas, with an annual  volume of 400 million cubic meters. However, at the beginning of  January 2025, according to official reports, gas supplies to Serbia  were suspended due to an issue at Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field,"  the Geghard Foundation analysis explains.

 Particular attention is paid to the criticism of France by Italy's  Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2024.  He criticized France  after the French Foreign Minister claimed that Azerbaijan was  undermining  the territorial integrity of Armenia. The Italian  Foreign Minister described France's remarks as actions that hinder  peace. In the same year, Hungary blocked a 10 million euro European  Peace Facility support package for Armenia, demanding that funds also  be allocated to Azerbaijan, even though Baku had not requested any  assistance from the fund. At the same time, it is emphasized that  Italy and Hungary are among the European countries whose embassies in  Baku congratulated Azerbaijan on "Victory Day" on November 8. 

The analysis also highlighted that Azerbaijan purchases weaponry from  Italy and Serbia. In 2023, an agreement was signed between Azerbaijan  and Italy on the purchase of military transport aircraft. In February  2024, Baku signed a contract worth approximately  $ 300 million with  Serbia for the purchase of self-propelled howitzers and shells. As  explained in the analysis, Baku is also attempting to involve these  countries to "reconstruction" efforts in occupied Artsakh. "By  capitalizing the energy vulnerabilities of certain European  countries, Baku seeks to advance its political agenda and narratives  in Europe through the strategic use of its energy resources" the fund  concluded.