That happened in the framework of a major "Pipelineistan" game-changer. After Moscow cleverly negotiated the realignment of South Stream towards Turk Stream, right up to the Greek border, Putin and Greek Prime Minister Tsipras also agreed to a pipeline extension from the Turkish border across Greece to southern Europe. So Gazprom will be firmly implanted not only in Turkey but also Greece, which in itself will become mightily strategic in European "Pipelineistan."
So Germany, sooner or later, must answer a categorical imperative -- how to keep running massive trade surpluses while dumping their euro trade partners. The only possible answer is more trade with Russia, China and East Asia. It will take quite a while, and there will be many bumps on the road, but a Berlin-Moscow-Beijing trade/commercial axis -- or the "RC" in BRICS meet Germany -- is all but inevitable.
And no, you won't read that in any wacky US "Think Tankland" "forecast."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).