15:37     26 November 2024    

Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, has once again condemned Politico for spreading disinformation about Azerbaijan's gas imports from Russia. In a post on the social media platform X, Hajiyev criticized Politico for misleading the European and global public, News.Az reports. “I regret that Politico instead of apologizing to Azerbaijan and retracting its fake news article, continues to spread disinformation to mislead the European and global public,” he noted. Politico's article referenced Azerbaijani media sources stating that Azerbaijan had imported 141.6 million cubic meters of gas from Russia in 2024. However, Hajiyev clarified that the reported figure was part of a seasonal swap operation, not an actual import. “Such seasonal exchanges occur between neighboring states and this is normal. I regret that the article fails to differentiate between swap and import,” the presidential aide explained. Hajiyev continued: “The Southern Gas Corridor, which supplies EU markets, is only connected to Azerbaijani gas fields, not to the broader Azerbaijani natural gas system,” said Tim McPhie, the European Commission’s spokesperson on energy affairs. The EU official’s statement is entirely accurate, and we are fully aligned with that. Therefore, Azerbaijan did not import any gas from Russia in 2024. Period!” The presidential aide added: “Politico is unsuccessfully searching for a black cat in a dark room while knowing that the cat is not there. There is a fitting Azerbaijani proverb: “A liar has to be chased to the end”.”