Maia Sandu Seeks Energy Cooperation With Azerbaijan

President Maia Sandu announced Moldova's interest in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan to diversify the country's energy supplies. Speaking at the 9th European Political Community summit in Dublin, Sandu stated that energy continues to be a "big problem" for Moldova despite the implementation of significant reforms in recent years.

Moldova ceased direct natural gas imports from Russia in January 2025, though Russian gas still enters the supply chain through European intermediaries. To address this, the state-owned company Energocom previously held discussions with the Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR in March 2026 regarding potential supplies.

Significant hurdles remain for this partnership, including technical infrastructure constraints and competition from other European nations for Azerbaijani gas volumes. Security risks also persist for pipelines passing through Ukrainian territory, and Moldova remains dependent on storage facilities in Ukraine and Romania due to a lack of domestic gas storage.

The Dublin summit focused on European security and energy resilience. Azerbaijan is scheduled to host the next European Political Community summit in May 2028.