Siemens has declined to comment on media reports that Canada has flown the stranded Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany from where it will be delivered to Russia by July 24
OTTAWA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2022) Siemens has declined to comment on media reports that Canada has flown the stranded Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany from where it will be delivered to Russia by July 24.
"No comment regarding transport," a spokesperson for Siemens Energy told Sputnik, when asked whether they could confirm the reports.
Earlier on Monday, Russia's Kommersant newspaper said that Canada sent the turbine by air on Sunday. The Siemens-built turbine had been stranded in Montreal because of sanctions imposed on Russia.
When asked about the reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred the question to Gazprom, the Russian energy giant which sent the turbine to Siemens for maintenance.
On July 10, Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said that Ottawa had decided to return the Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany to help Europe have access to "reliable and affordable energy."
On July 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has discussed the turbine issue with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He asserted that Ottawa's decision was a violation of the sanctions regime and will never be accepted by the Ukrainian people.
The Ukrainian lobby and Ukraine's government have put pressure on Ottawa over the past months to refrain from sending the turbine back to Gazprom.
In light of the recent developments around the turbine saga, Ukrainians held several small protests in major Canadian cities such as Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, over the weekend.
