Energy-rich authoritarian states use their energy exports for economic gains but also as a tool of foreign policy leverage,” reads the opening sentence of a report commissioned by the European Parliament. TurkStream, which is championed by Russia’s gas transit monopoly Gazprom, is a textbook example of just that – an attempt to deploy a pipeline in pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Europe can and should act to halt this project, or, at a minimum, demand the full compliance of all parties with EU’s keystone regulation known as the Third Energy Package.
OP-ED
Olga Bielkova: Russia’s Trojan stream under the Black Sea
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend an inauguration ceremony of a new gas pipeline "TurkStream" on Jan. 8, 2020 in Istanbul.
