A few days ago the Russian mainstream media were talking about all the agreements reached with Turkey during the most recent visit of the Prime Minister, hailing the accords as the latest Putinite achievement. Supposedly positive but vague results were achieved with respect to negotiations on the construction of the South Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines; on the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline, as well as the construction of nuclear power stations. In covering the Turkey visit, they showed the joy of Turkish and Italian prime ministers in signing these deals, and the unintelligible babble of the Russian one, who was able to clearly express a thought about how the Turks – are “difficult negotiators.”

But so many gas pipelines – is this good or bad? Depends on who you are. For Turkey, as an example, it’s good: she will get both gas supplies while at the same time collecting hefty fees for transit. For Ukraine, things will get worse in some ways: less gas is going to be pumped through her territory. (But there still will be some, and not a little).  For the rest of Europe, it is unambiguously good: irrespective of whether the latest Putinite gas pipeline is realized or not, deliveries of gas to her are still guaranteed on account of other diversified routes (the Scandinavian countries, the African ones, Nabucco).