Europe is increasingly relying on Russian gas supplies and some countries are willing to ignore Nord Stream 2 sanctions to work on their own projects, writes Dimitar Bechev in Foreign Policy. Russian gas shipments to Europe and Turkey reached a record high of 201.8 billion cubic metres in 2018 . In other words, it will be the Bulgarian taxpayer underwriting the venture. Russia could use the TurkStream project with Russia to increase its influence in Eastern Europe , according to Germany , while Turkey is backing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia . TurkStream comes amid increasing friction between Turkey and the west. Russian president Dimitar Bechev has also been seeking new Gazprom partners in the Balkans .
Europe is increasingly relying on Russian gas supplies and some countries are willing to ignore Nord Stream 2 sanctions to work on their own projects, writes Dimitar Bechev in Foreign Policy. Russian gas shipments to Europe and Turkey reached a record high of 201.8 billion cubic metres in 2018 . Russia could use the TurkStream project with Russia to increase its influence in Eastern Europe , according to Germany , while Turkey is backing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia . TurkStream comes amid increasing friction between Turkey and the west. Russian president Dimitar Bechev has also been seeking new Gazprom partners in the Balkans .