During a visit to Turkey on Dec. 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the cancellation of the South Stream project to carry Russian natural gas to Europe via Bulgaria. Instead, he said, a pipeline would be build under the Black Sea and via Turkey. The European Commission had delayed approval of the South Stream project as part of sanctions against Moscow for its actions in Ukraine. Without the commission's approval, Bulgaria declared South Stream could not cross its territory. Russia, upset with the Europeans' position, responded with the Turkey Stream project.
Putin's move surprised the Europeans. Federica Mogherini, EU foreign affairs and security policy chief, declared on Euronews TV that the Russian decision illustrated the urgent need for Europe to diversify its gas procurement channels. The scrapped project was to have been 3,600 kilometers (2,237 miles) long and would have transported gas to Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia.