In 2017 Russian gas giant Gazprom has increased supplies to countries that may become natural gas consumers using the Turkish Stream pipeline in the future, reported Dnes.bg.

For Bulgaria, the rise has reached 11.1%compared to January-August last year.

Exports to Turkey grew by 22.4%, for Greece – by 13.2%, for Serbia- by 40.8% and for Hungary – by 24.4%, according to novinite.com.

Russia is building the pipeline through Turkey as an alternative to routes through Ukraine and plans to invest nearly 40 billion rubles (over half a billion euros) this year for construction. Russian media remind that up to now, 50 km of the 900-kilometer-long route at the bottom of the Black Sea has been built. A total of 2 pipes are planned for a total capacity of 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year.