After meeting Wednesday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is open to discussing alternatives to the South Stream project.

Putin said that energy cooperation with Turkey would not be abandoned.

"We are ready to build it in a volume large enough to supply gas via Turkey to the European Union. We want to punish no one or take umbrage at anyone," Putin said. "If it is possible from the logistics' point of view, we are ready to go further to Bulgaria. The European Commission is already asking us to do that. We are ready to go to Greece. It means we are not going to close anything. We are not going to isolate ourselves from anyone."

Putin clarified that it was not Russia that pulled the plug on the South Stream plan. He states that it was not able to be implemented after a April 2014 European Parliament decision to back out.