Gazprom of Russia clinched a deal today to double supplies from Azerbaijan in a bid to expand its control over gas produced by former Soviet republics and to undermine the European Union’s plans for an alternative gas pipeline.

Russia secured Turkish support for a pipeline project that challenges EU efforts to reduce energy dependence on Moscow, but said Europe would ultimately benefit from the deal.

Companies from four European nations today signed an agreement with Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom to be supplied by a new pipeline – a project that has raised concerns about increasing European dependence on Russian supplies.