Both the European Commission and Washington supported Canada’s decision to return the turbines of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany.
European Commission spokesman Johannes Park commented on the issue of the return of the turbines of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline: “We are closely monitoring this situation and have taken note of Canada’s decision to return these turbines to Germany after the maintenance that was carried out in Canada”, noting that this return should be “eliminates one of the justifications” for restricting the supply of gas.
“On sanctions, I can only remind you that the EU sanctions regime does not affect goods and technologies related to the transportation of natural gas,” Pak emphasized.
In turn, the US State Department said that Washington supports the decision of the Canadian authorities to return Nord Stream turbines to Germany.
In addition, the Ukrainian Embassy in Ottawa expressed the hope that Canada would comply with the sanctions imposed against Russia and not return the turbines.
Earlier, the German Council of Ministers called for constructive negotiations with Canada on the return of Nord Stream turbines, noting that it had not yet been completed.
On June 14, Gazprom announced that it was forced to reduce gas supplies via Nord Stream due to the non-return of Siemens gas pumping units after repairs and identification of technical malfunctions of engines. Siemens claims that one of the repaired Nord Stream gas turbines cannot be returned to Germany from Montreal due to Canadian sanctions against Russia.
For this reason, 40% of the gas from the maximum capacity of the gas pipeline is now pumped through the Nord Stream, which threatens Germany’s plans to fill gas storage facilities.
Source: RIA Novosti