On Monday, Gazprom began a 10-day maintenance process for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, while the European Union, especially gas-dependent Germany, is anxiously awaiting whether the gas will flow once more in the pipeline.
The line’s turbines are currently undergoing maintenance at a Canadian facility owned by Siemens.
The Russian group also announced, in a statement, that it “does not have any document that would allow Siemens to get a gas turbine engine out of Canada,” following Ottawa announced that it wanted to return it to Berlin.
“In these circumstances, it is not possible to reach an objective conclusion regarding the development of the situation and ensuring the safe operation of the Portovaya plant, a major facility of the Nord Stream gas pipeline,” she added.
On Saturday, Canada decided to hand over to Germany a turbine needed to operate Nord Stream 1 to ease the energy crisis with Russia, despite an appeal to Ukraine not to “succumb to the Kremlin’s blackmail.”
Last Monday, Kyiv summoned the Canadian ambassador to protest once morest this step, which it considered “unacceptable”.
Although the pipeline’s annual maintenance has long been scheduled, the fear is that Gazprom will use the opportunity to shut down the pipeline as relations between Russia and the West deteriorate to their lowest levels since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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