Nord Stream turbine on its way to Germany

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Canada on Sunday shipped to Germany the repaired Nord Stream turbine that has been stranded in Montreal for over a week due to sanctions imposed on Russia, the Russian Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The fixed turbine should arrive in Russia by July 24.

Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail reported earlier, citing sources, that the turbine Siemens Energy could not previously return from maintenance due to Canadian sanctions on Russia was already on its way to Europe. 

German Energy Minister Robert Habeck urged Canada to hand over the turbine to Germany rather than Russia in order to avoid legal action.

The Siemens Energy turbine is being shipped to Germany by plane instead of ship, as earlier planned, the Russian newspaper said. It should take about five to seven days for the turbine to be transported from Germany to Russia, via Helsinki.

Last Sunday, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the Nord Stream 1 turbines sent to Canada for maintenance would be returned to Germany instead of Russia due to the anti-Moscow sanctions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that he discussed the turbine issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying that Ottawa’s decision was a violation of the sanctions regime and would never be accepted by the Ukrainian people.

The situation prompted Russian gas giant Gazprom to reveal on Wednesday that it had not a single document allowing German conglomerate Siemens to take a gas turbine engine for the Portovaya compressor station from Canada. 

Under the current circumstances, the company said, it would be impossible to draw an objective conclusion about any further development of the situation regarding ensuring the safe operation of the Portovaya compressor station, "which is a critical facility for the Nord Stream gas pipeline."

The Ukrainian foreign ministry summoned earlier this month the Canadian charge d'affaires in Ukraine over his country's decision to return the turbine to Moscow, calling on Ottawa to reconsider its actions.

The debacle called for negotiations between Canada and Germany, and the entire process saw Ottawa facing fierce resistance and mounting pressure from the Canadian Ukrainian lobby, as well as Kiev. The Canadian government was called on not to send the turbine to Gazprom, with Ukraine claiming that this action would be in violation of the sanctions regime on Russia.

Gazprom reduced on June 16 gas pipeline deliveries to 40% of its capacity, explaining this by problems with the maintenance of gas turbines at Portovaya. Nord Stream has since stopped until July 21 for scheduled maintenance.

Meanwhile, the German Bild newspaper reported on Monday that Berlin believed that Russia did not plan on fully resuming gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 after the repairs are completed.

Moscow had repeatedly warned that further maintenance delays could result in a complete shutdown of gas flows via the pipeline network.