The unwanted gas pipeline: Russia has halted the construction of South Stream

During his visit to Turkey on 1 December 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had been forced to halt construction of the South Stream gas pipeline due to the unconstructive stance taken by the European Commission and the passiveness of the Bulgarian government. Alexey Miller, the CEO of the Russian gas company Gazprom, said that this project was closed and would not be reactivated. During the visit, Gazprom and the Turkish energy company Botas signed a Memorandum of Understanding envisaging the construction of a new gas pipeline running through the Black Sea that would make it possible for supplies to be delivered to both the Turkish market and Southern European countries. President Putin announced that Russia would become more engaged in developing LNG projects and would increase its share in non-European gas markets.