The relationship between the internal security of the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan's policy towards the Russian Federation

<ns3:p>The purpose of this article is to present the results of an analysis demonstrating the importance of Azerbaijan as a key partner of the European Union (EU) in the context of diversifying natural gas supplies, building the energy resilience of member states, and efforts to isolate Russia economically. The analysis includes, among other things, official EU and Azerbaijani positions, statistical data on gas transit, bilateral agreements and memoranda, political statements, expert reports, and media coverage from 2014 to 2025. The authors note that, in the context of growing geopolitical tensions and the Russian-led war in Ukraine, the importance of alternative gas sources, including supplies from Azerbaijan, is increasing steadily. The results of the analysis show that in the Balkan region, supplies from Azerbaijan have reduced dependence on Russian gas in Bulgaria and, to some extent, in Serbia, while Azerbaijani gas plays a particularly important role in the diversification of gas imports in Greece, Turkey, and, above all, Georgia. This article also analyses the situation of the neighbouring non-EU countries, whose degree of diversification of gas import sources and independence from Russian gas also impacts the broader security of the EU and its member states. At the same time, the authors conclude that no significant increase in Azerbaijani gas exports to Southeastern European countries is expected in the short term, underscoring the need for further development of diversification infrastructure, such as interconnectors and LNG terminals.</ns3:p>