Russian President Putin launches construction of Gazprom’s mammoth pipeline

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on hand to mark the start of construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, linking Russia with Europe. Gazprom, the state-run gas monopoly which launches the project, will lay pipes under the Black Sea and via the Balkans. Bulgaria will act as a hub to access southern Europe, neatly avoiding problematic transit countries. Vladimir Putin spoke about the project: “We are now about to finalise a huge infrastructure project. In parallel with Nord