President Vladimir V. Putin surprised the world in December when he aborted long-laid plans for a natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea to Europe, saying Russia would run pipes to Turkey instead. Many in the West thought it might be merely a bluff, to make the European Union reconsider its opposition to the pipeline project, known as South Stream. But in recent weeks, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom has shown signs that it is serious about proceeding with what it calls Turkish Stream. Gazprom quickly bought out its European partners in South Stream Transport, the Amsterdam company that was to build the Black Sea leg of the pipeline. And the chief of that Dutch company has petitioned the Netherlands government to let it keep working with Gazprom, despite European sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. On the Turkish front, Gazprom is actively negotiating with […]