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The South Stream gas deal that was signed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoganon on Thursday will allow the planned South Stream pipeline to pass through Turkey's waters.
The pipeline is a Russian-Italian project that would bring Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea. It is seen as a rival to the Nabucco pipeline, which some European leaders favour since that project does not rely on Russian gas.
The payment disputes between Russia and Ukraine, that have blocked gas shipments to Europe in the past, has put doubt on Russian reliability.
Russian officials feel that avoiding Ukraine with the South Stream pipeline should resolve that problem. Nonetheless, some European leaders would like an alternate, worrying that they are too dependent on Russia, which provides the bulk of gas for European consumption.
EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said that the EU's executive, the European Commission, does not see South Stream as a threat, but a "complementary initiative" to projects like Nabucco.
There were talks on Russian bids to build the first nuclear power plants for Turkey in Akkuyu, around 350 km east of Antalya in the meeting for the deal. The bid for the 15.5-billion-euro project was won by Russia together with a Turkish partner and would be completed in 2020, Putin said.
Putin and Erdogan also discussed about the planned trans Anatolian oil pipeline from the northern Turkish city of Samsun on the Black Sea to the town of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
