A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Dr Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas and Lecturer in Energy Politics at the European University of St Petersburg

• Gazprom and the EU: European Commission could present the results of its antimonopoly investigation into Gazprom ‘in a matter of weeks’
• Turkish Stream: Gazprom CEO and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources visit intended ‘Turkish Stream’ pipeline route; Turkish Botaş receives 10 percent discount on gas imports from Gazprom; Turkish Stream: Pro et Contra
• Ukraine: The ‘winter package’; A new dispute over gas supplies to the Donbass; Gazprom awaits advance payments for March gas supplies as time runs out on the ‘winter package’
• Belarus: Gazprom Transgaz Belarus named ‘top taxpayer’ in Belarus; Belarus settles payments for Russian gas in roubles; Gazprom to invest in Belarusian gas transmission and gas storage
• China: Gazprom seeks Asian investment and loans, receives top credit rating from Chinese agency; Gazprom promises exports to China still on schedule

• March 16, 2015

Germany and other countries want European Union leaders to endorse a declaration saying that EU sanctions on Russia will not be eased unless Moscow complies with a Ukraine ceasefire deal, two officials said on Saturday.

• March 14, 2015

China has summoned the Myanmar ambassador for a meeting in Beijing after a bomb from a Myanmar aircraft fell in Chinese territory and killed four Chinese people, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

• March 14, 2015

The United States has abandoned plans to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 5,500 by year's end, the Associated Press reported on Saturday, but a senior U.S. official told Reuters no decision has been made.

• March 14, 2015

European Union leaders are unlikely to reach agreement at their summit next week to prolong economic sanctions on Russia that expire in July, a senior EU official said on Friday.

• March 13, 2015

EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on Friday for European governments to show solidarity with Greece and resolve a credit crunch that risks dumping it out of the euro zone.

• March 13, 2015

Taiwan is spinning away from China's idealized model of "one country, two systems" as a renewed spirit of democracy sweeps across its political sphere, rousing a new cadre of grassroots leaders critical of a shared future with China.

• March 13, 2015

European Union leaders are unlikely to tighten sanctions on Russia when they meet next week but will haggle over whether they need to act now to prolong economic sanctions on Russia expiring in July, diplomats said on Thursday.

• March 12, 2015