STRATFOR: Russia's Plan for the South Stream Pipeline
Russia is moving quickly to lock in the route for the South Stream project, which would bypass Ukraine and connect Russia's southern natural gas fields directly to Southern and Central Europe.
Gazprom wants to avoid facing an additional legal battle with the European Union by completing all investment agreements and breaking ground on the project before certain provisions of the European Union's Third Energy Package take effect in March 2013.
Determining the last transit state for Russian natural gas before arriving at Italian or Austrian natural gas distribution centers is a matter of great strategic significance for Russia, which had considered both Hungary and Croatia for the role