Reuters: Merkel urges Bulgaria to seek new talks with Putin on South Stream
German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed Bulgaria on Monday in its bid to seek new talks with Russia about the South Stream gas pipeline after Moscow shelved the project this month in favor of an alternative link via Turkey.
The EU, at odds with Moscow over the Ukraine crisis and keen to reduce its energy reliance on Russia, had raised objections to the $40 billion South Stream pipeline, which was to run under the Black Sea and enter the EU via Bulgaria.
Critics of the plan said they believed it breached EU law, but some EU member states saw the pipeline, which would bypass Ukraine, as the best way to secure their own gas supplies and economic interests and still hope it can be revived.