MOSCOW — Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has instructed gas giant Gazprom to speed up the construction of a pipeline under the Black Sea.
The South Stream project is meant to ship Russian natural gas to southern and eastern Europe.
This week, Moscow secured a key approval from Turkey to go ahead with the construction.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin as asking Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller Friday to start the pipeline at the end of next year, not in 2013. The move is likely to put pressure on Ukraine, currently Russia’s chief gas export route.
Miller reportedly lamented that the $20 billion Ukraine is seeking for the pipeline is too high, but said talks would continue.
The two countries have clashed, notably over Moscow’s striving to control or manage the pipeline crossing Ukraine.
