European firms are not close to an agreement with Azerbaijan to replace Russian gas flows through Ukraine, Slovakian state-owned gas importer SPP told Reuters on Nov. 1, contradicting earlier media reports that said a deal was at hand. Ukraine currently transits Russian gas to the European Union as part of a deal signed in 2019, which is set to expire in December 2024. Europe and Ukraine have been in talks with Azerbaijan to replace Russia as a supplier. Bloomberg reported on Oct. 1 that energy companies from Hungary and Slovakia were nearing a contract for up to 12-14 billion cubic meters of …