Russian energy company Gazprom said it approved financing of up to $320 million to help build a natural gas pipeline planned through Turkey. Russian news agency Tass reported that Gazprom approved a 3.5-year loan to aid the construction of the planned Turkish Stream pipeline. Funds target construction, purchase contracts and general administrative expenses. Gazprom is looking at Turkey as an alternative to Ukraine, through which most of the Russian gas pipelines run. Geopolitical issues associated with Ukraine make legacy routes risky and Turkey’s geographic position makes it desirable as a bridge to transport energy resources from Central Asian suppliers to the European market Turkish Stream, which mirrors the route for the now-abandoned South Stream project, would run under the Black Sea to Turkey and then to the European market. South Stream was scrapped because of concerns about Russian business practices expressed by some European […]