Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, has
Politico Europe for publishing misleading information about Azerbaijan and accused the outlet of spreading disinformation instead of issuing an apology and retracting its claims.
“I regret that Politico Europe, instead of apologizing to Azerbaijan and retracting its fake news article, continues to spread disinformation to mislead the European and global public,” Hajiyev stated.
The controversy centers around Politico’s claim, citing Azerbaijani media, that “official data shows Azerbaijan imported 141.6 million cubic meters of gas from Russia this year.”
Hajiyev clarified that this figure relates to a gas swap operation, not an import. “Such seasonal exchanges occur between neighboring states and this is normal. I regret that the article fails to differentiate between a swap and an import,” he said.
He also referred to a statement from Tim McPhie, the European Commission’s spokesperson on energy affairs, who confirmed that the Southern Gas Corridor supplying EU markets is exclusively connected to Azerbaijani gas fields, not the broader Azerbaijani natural gas system.
“The EU official’s statement is entirely accurate, and we are fully aligned with that,” Hajiyev affirmed, adding that Azerbaijan had not imported any gas from Russia in 2024.
Hajiyev concluded by accusing Politico of intentionally fabricating a narrative: “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.'”
