Blue Stream
Building the Blue Stream pipeline was intended to be the foundation for a strategic partnership between Russia and Turkey, with joint participation in energy and transport projects. The existing gas transit route to Turkey went through Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. This land route made the gas substantially more expensive, and there were continual accusations of gas being illicitly siphoned off while being transported through Ukraine and Moldova. Russia considered that these problems could be solved by building a pipeline across the Black Sea floor.