Russia Scraps Natural Gas Pipeline to Europe, Decides to Send More to Turkey

Russia has nixed a proposed natural gas line to Europe – due to economic sanctions currently imposed by the European Union – and has instead planned to send more fuel to Turkey.

According to Bloomberg:

The decision to shelve the $45 billion South Stream project is the latest sign that Russia’s economic ties with Europe continue to fray as the crisis in Ukraine persists. The route under the Black Seawould have offered Russia’s OAO Gazprom a more direct path to feed the continent’s gas needs, a plan the European Union objected to because it would reduce Ukraine’s leverage against its neighbor.

President Vladimir Putin is struggling to prevent Russia from falling into recession amid falling oil prices and lingering sanctions from the nation’s annexation of Crimea. In lieu of South Stream, Russia will concentrate on supplying gas to Turkey through a different Black Sea pipeline, Putin said after meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara yesterday.

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