BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. Electricity
exports from Azerbaijan to Russia rose in the first half of
2026.


This was announced in a report published by the Azerbaijani
State Statistical Committee.


According to the report, during the mentioned period, Azerbaijan
exported 64.6 million kWh of electricity to Russia.


Compared to the same months of 2025, Azerbaijan's electricity
exports to Russia grew by 3.5 million kWh, or 5.8%, in volume and
by $205,000, or 7.5%, in value.


Meanwhile, during the first six months of 2026, Azerbaijan
imported 38 million kWh of electricity worth $1.5 million from
Russia.


This figure, in value terms, was $95,000, or 6.7% more, and in
volume, 3.48 million kWh, or 8.4% less, than the same period last
year.


In total, from January through June 2026, Azerbaijan exported
12.43 billion cubic meters of natural gas (in gaseous form) to 8
countries, worth $4.1 billion. This represents a decrease of
$436.46 million, or 9.6%, in value, and an increase of 65.8 million
cubic meters, or 0.5%, in volume, compared to the same period last
year.







In addition, during the first six months of 2026, Azerbaijan
imported natural gas (in gaseous form) from only one country — Iran
— in the amount of 193.18 million cubic meters, valued at $13
million. During the same period last year, Azerbaijan imported
208.24 million cubic meters of natural gas from two countries —
Russia and Turkmenistan — worth $31.98 million. Thus, compared to
the same period last year, natural gas imports to Azerbaijan
decreased by $18.9 million in value, or 59.3%, and by over 12
million cubic meters in volume, or 5.9%.


Meanwhile, Azerbaijani and Russian officials also expressed
interest in expanding economic cooperation between the two
countries. Following a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow this month, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov stated that the parties discussed increasing trade,
expanding direct investment, and cooperation on the western branch
of the North-South International Transport Corridor.


“Given that the latest meeting of the intergovernmental
commission took place in April, we discussed trade and economic
cooperation. We noted a mutual interest in further increasing trade
volume in the future. Last year, the volume of bilateral trade
reached about $5 billion. Russia remains one of Azerbaijan’s main
economic partners. There is significant potential for increasing
trade volume and expanding direct investment. The volume of Russian
investment in Azerbaijan amounts to about $11 billion. More than
1,400 commercial enterprises with Russian capital are operating in
the republic,” he said.


For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov
described the regular activities of the intergovernmental
commission as one of the main mechanisms for economic cooperation
and emphasized that, despite global economic difficulties, the
overall trend in Azerbaijani-Russian economic relations remains
positive.


“I am confident that today we will be able to discuss trade and
economic cooperation in detail. One of the key elements in this
area is the regular dialogue within the intergovernmental
commission between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation. The 24th
meeting of the commission took place in April of this year. In this
context, we believe that, despite all the difficulties in the
global economy as a whole, the trend between our countries is
positive. Today, we will likely focus in more detail on the figures
and indicators for 2025, as well as on the directions outlined for
the near future,” he said.