Russia decides to cancel South Stream
Russia has decidd to cancel the South Stream pipeline.
As "the Kommersant" predicted, Russia has abandoned the South Stream pipeline - one of its biggest projects, the geopolitical importance of which initially exceeds the economic. After the conflict in the Ukraine, the EU firmly blocked the project, and now instead of the South Stream "Gazprom" is going to lay a pipeline to Turkey to at least partially abandon the transit through the Ukraine and use more than $ 25 billion of the already implemented investments. However, the experts believe that it is better to completely abandon the project: Turkey can become a problem user for "Gazprom".
Russia could not build the South Stream pipeline with the opposition of the European Commission and the lack of resolution of the Bulgarian authorities and therefore rejected the project, Vladimir Putin stated yesterday during a visit to Turkey. Thus, as "the Kommersant" predicted on November 10th "Gazprom" abandons one of the most ambitious and expensive projects in its history, after eight years of negotiations, the preparatory work and endless disputes with the EU. Instead, as "the Kommersant" wrote on December 1st, "Gazprom" will lay the pipeline into Turkey with the same capacity that was assumed for the South Stream: 63 billion cubic meters.